CREATIVE TEAM
George W. Swope has been the musical leader of The Lakeside Choraliers since 2019, having first been the Choraliers' accompanist. He attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He has conducted choirs in Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania and is currently the Director of Music at Cedar Crest Village. Mr. Swope is heard in regular performances throughout Northern NJ with choral groups and chamber orchestras.
Fiona Smith Sutherland
Choir Director
Fiona Smith Sutherland is currently Director of Traditional Music and Organist at Tower Hill Presbyterian Church, Red Bank, NJ where she directs an extensive choir program of voices and handbells, along with a well-received concert series. In addition, Fiona serves as part-time Organist & Choirmaster at Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, NJ. As well as leading the Lakeside Choraliers, Fiona is also the Musical Director of the Shrewsbury Chorale based in Monmouth County, specializing in eclectic programs featuring new choral music, often by living composers. Under her leadership, the Shrewsbury Chorale was invited to sing in Carnegie Hall in May 2025 and has been asked back for June of 2026 . In the Summers of 2021, 2023, and 2025, she was one of the guest choral conductors of the famous Ocean Grove Choir Festival. Fiona earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at Westminster Choir College, studying Organ, Choral Conducting, Sacred Music, and Voice. Ms. Sutherland participated in master classes and studied with many important sacred musicians, conductors, and singers, including most recently Rosephanye Powell, Robert Shaw, Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Gerre Hancock, Pierre Pincemalle, Dale Warland, Julianne Baird, Joseph Flummerfelt, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, and others. As a singer, Fiona has performed in Spoleto, Italy, and in the great concert halls on the East Coast.
Ms. Sutherland has worked as Organist and Choirmaster at many churches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and Connecticut over the past 35 years, leading large choir programs of all levels. As an organist, she has played recitals and served as accompanist in as many states, as well as abroad. Fiona has accompanied many regional choral societies and ensembles over her career. She is incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to perform for President Obama in 2012.
Matthew Hosmer
Accompanist
​Matthew Hosmer is a music director/pianist in NY and NJ. He is currently the regular collaborative pianist for Summit HS choirs and acts as accompanist for recitals, concerts, rehearsals, and auditions throughout North Jersey. Most of the time you can find him in the rehearsal room of a theater teaching parts or playing rehearsals. Some of his recent Music Director credits include: The Prom (Stageworks 237), Rent (Plays-in-the-Park), Mean Girls (Nutley HS), Nine (Old Library Theatre), Ride the Cyclone (Stageworks 237), and 3 Season Preview gala performances for Stageworks 237. On those rare occasions that he gets to perform on stage, Matthew can be seen in productions like Assassins (Czolgosz), The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (Professor Hidgens), and Titanic (Harold Bride). After serving as an interim accompanist for Lakeside Choraliers in spring of 2024, he starting working with the group full time in Spring of 2026.