Byron De Leon is a Guatemalan-American conductor, baritone, and educator from Brooklyn, NY. An active performer in the tri-state area, he sings with the Marble Choir at Marble Collegiate Church, Choral Chameleon, and will join the Delaware Choral Scholars for the Tolosa Choral Competition in Spain in October 2025. He will also be a Conducting Apprentice for the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia’s 152nd season.

Additionally, De Leon serves as Assistant Conductor, Voice Teacher, and Creative Musicianship Teacher with the Young People’s Chorus at Thurnauer School of Music (YPC@T) in Bergen County, NJ—a meaningful full-circle moment, as his musical journey began at age seven with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC). With YPC, he performed across the U.S. and internationally—including a 30-day, 18-performance tour in Japan’s major concert halls. He has also taught in NYC public schools through YPC, preparing students for a culminating performance at Lincoln Center alongside youth from across the city. Now, as a member of the YPC@T artistic staff, he is excited to help inspire young singers just as he was once inspired. 

De Leon earned his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick, where he worked with the University Choir, Glee Club, Kirkpatrick Choir, and Opera Theater choruses. He also served as a private voice instructor for non-voice major students from other disciplines who participated in Rutgers Choirs. He has participated in distinguished festivals and workshops, including the Collaborative Piano Institute, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival at Yale Summer School of Music, UMKC Conducting Symposium, Sarteano Choral Workshop, Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute, Bent But Not Broken, YPC National, Choral Music Experience, and the Lift Every Voice Symposium.

He holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance with a minor in Linguistics from the Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. At Ithaca, he performed as both ensemble singer and soloist with groups such as the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble (CVE), Syracuse Chorale, and the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers (DCJS), later serving as DCJS’s Vocal Coach Coordinator and Student Conductor. He was also Bass Section Leader and Student Conductor of the Ithaca College Choir, making his conducting debut at the 2023 All-Eastern NAfME Conference in Rochester, NY. He was a founding member of Ithaca’s first Vocal Chamber Music Ensemble (S.O.C.K.S.).

De Leon is an alumnus of the Professional Performing Arts School in Hell’s Kitchen, NY, where he sang with the National Chorale.