Alex Canovas is a Brooklyn-based vocal artist, conductor, and teacher committed to exploring and celebrating the human voice through the power of choral music.

He is the General & Artistic Director of the Young New Yorkers' Chorus (YNYC), leading both their Mixed and Treble Ensembles. YNYC’s 2024-2025 season highlights include “Holiday Modulations”, a combined concert between the Mixed and Treble Ensembles; the East Coast Premiere of “From Wilderness” by Jeffrey Derus in collaboration with NYC-based Bloom Sound Collective; and “To The East”, a program about the beauty of nature, which will feature works by finalists for YNYC’s annual Competition for Young Composers. YNYC’s 2023-2024 season saw the Treble Ensemble appear at the Ensemble Showcase for the Connecticut American Choral Directors Association (CT-ACDA) Fall Conference, the Mixed Ensemble perform at the ACDA Eastern Region Conference in February/March 2024, as well as numerous other performances in the NYC area, including appearances by YNYC singers at Carnegie Hall and the first ever New York City Treble Choral Festival at Queens College. In 2023, YNYC was named the winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance — Community Division, and in 2024 Alex was named the winner of The American Prize in Choral Conducting — The Dale Warland Award — Community Division.

Previous highlights have included a performance by both ensembles of Jonathan Dove’s “The Passing of the Year”; Metropolis, a concert series featuring music by, for, and about New York City which featured seven world premieres; and a pandemic season that featured two virtual cabaret-style performances and the premiere of three virtual choir videos. An ardent supporter of new music, YNYC has given the world, regional, or NYC of over 30 works over six seasons under Alex’s direction. Alex also oversees YNYC’s celebrated Competition for Young Composers which has led to the commissioning of over 50 new works by young composers, many of whom have gone on to become some of the most influential voices in choral music.

In August of 2018, he made his Lincoln Center debut, serving as a conductor in the world premiere of John Luther Adams’ “In the Name of the Earth”, led by Simon Halsey, which featured over 600 singers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He also served as an Assistant Conductor for The Gauntlet, a site-specific immersive choral experience by composer Sxip Shirey held at Rockefeller Center in August 2019. Also in 2019, he began a choral collaboration with Creative Mornings, the world’s largest face-to-face creative community.

He previously served as Associate Conductor of the critically-acclaimed vocal ensemble Choral Chameleon, directed by Vince Peterson, which has held residencies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Brooklyn’s National Sawdust. In this role he served as Singer-Faculty at Choral Chameleon’s annual Summer Institute, where he worked with visionary leaders such as Matt Oltman, Dale Trumbore, Mark Shapiro, David Conte, and Vance George. Previous projects with Choral Chameleon included a performance of Philip Glass’ “Madrigal Opera” and a collaboration with singer/songwriter Caroline Polachek. Other previous positions included Operations Manager and Assistant Conductor of the Empire City Men’s Chorus, and Assistant Conductor of the Ridgewood, NJ-based Ars Musica Chorale.

As a vocalist, Alex has sung in many of New York’s finest venues, including The 92nd Street Y, National Sawdust, and The Town Hall. He most recently performed in a workshop of Gisela Cardenas and Paul Pinto’s “Hybrid Suite No. 2: The Carmen Variations” at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, also serving as Assistant Conductor to David Bloom.

An accomplished church musician with over 20 years of experience, Alex most recently served on the music staff of St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Carroll Street) in Brooklyn for nine years, where he was named Director of Music in 2018. He served as choirmaster for all of St. Paul's services, and during the pandemic created over 30 fully produced virtual services.

Alex works actively in other forms of media, and has music directed ensembles featured in commercials, radio, social media activations, and online media. Highlights include an award-winning commercial with the innovative music supervision firm, We Are Walker, and an activation event for “The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songs & Snakes” in Times Square. As an administrator, he has worked for OPERA America, as well as the doctor booking app Zocdoc, where he developed a deep love of systems and processes.

Alex is an active member of Chorus America and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), serving as the Repertoire & Resources Co-Chair for Lifelong Community Choral Music for the New York chapter of ACDA, as well as on the ACDA National Composition Initiatives Committee.

Alex lives and works in Brooklyn with his wife and cat, where he teaches voice, conducting, piano, and musicianship. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, traveling, and striving to brew the perfect cup of craft coffee.