Founded in 1947, this unique chorus has performed over the years in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Japan and Germany.

Functioning as unofficial goodwill ambassadors, the UN Singers aim to spread the message of friendship and understanding among peoples. A microcosm of the world, the group is composed of present and former staff of the United Nations and permanent missions of UN Member States. They rehearse and perform in their leisure time, outside office hours.

This ensemble has brought an exciting international dimension to music festivals, conventions and conferences, religious ceremonies and school fundraising events. Although they have performed in the General Assembly Hall and at many high-level functions, the the Singers most look forward to their annual concert of traditional Christmas carols from around the world.

The conductor and music director is Mr. Guillermo Vaisman. Musician, accordionist and choir conductor, he was born in Entre Ríos, Argentina, in 1961. He studied at the Julián Aguirre Conservatory of Music and the Juan Jose Castro Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, and continued his studies at the School of Arts and Musical Sciences at the Universidad Católica Argentina. Later he continued studies in choir conducting with Antonio Russo and Alberto Balzanelli.

Guillermo is a founder member of the Argentine Association of Choir Conductors (ADICORA) and a member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) since 1998. He founded the choir Cappella Buenos Aires in 1994 and was its conductor until December 2002.

During the past 20 years, he has conducted more than 400 concerts in Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, Uruguay and the United States. The repertoire included a cappella works from the universal choral literature and traditional folk pieces from Argentina and other South American countries.

At present, he is Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church (Manhattan, New York City) and Musical Counselor of the Asociación Cappella Buenos Ayres (Argentina).

Since June 2004, he has been the Conductor and Music Director of the United Nations Singers, affiliated with the UN Staff Recreation Council at UN Headquarters, New York.

Our accompanist is Ms. Dhilanthi Fernando, from Sri Lanka. Hailing from a family of musicians, Dhilanthi Fernando has been active as a teacher, performer, accompanist, and church musician since she was a teenager growing up in Sri Lanka ("Taprobane"). In the US since 1981, Ms. Fernando has performer’s diplomas from the Royal Schools of Music and the Trinity College of Music, London, as well as an MA in musicology from the University of Chicago. After more than two decades of teaching and performing in Chicago, where she was also the representative for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Ms. Fernando moved to the New York area in 2003, and divides her time between teaching and performing. She has been the pianist for the UN Singers since the fall of 2005.

The Taprobane Academy of Music, of which she is the founder/director, is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Ms. Fernando believes that everyone has the ability to learn music, regardless of whether it is a serious pursuit or for the joy of it. She also believes that music is a vehicle that enables individuals and communities to live wholesome lives. Ms. Fernando is the mother of three children, two of whom are professional musicians themselves, and she is married to Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana of the National Council of Churches in New York.