Peter Cowdrey is a UK based composer, pianist and ornithologist with a particular interest in birdsong and recording. He is the founder of Planet Birdsong, and its musical arm The Conference of Birds. As a small boy he loved listening to the dawn chorus but was deeply frustrated at birdsong's inaccessibility - too fast, too high, and resolutely resistant to being shoehorned into what was generally defined as music. Peter is excited that advances in technology have made it possible to crack the hidden codes of birdsong and seeks to share them with the rest of the world, especially children. Learn more in this short BBC documentary.

Dr. Isak Herman, PhD brings over a decade of collaborative work with marine, terrestrial and avian conservation organizations around the world. With a background in computational acoustics, his subsequent doctoral research, through the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge, UK, involved specialization in design and development of public engagement technology for bioacoustic education and citizen science. As a trustee of the Planet Birdsong Foundation he specializes in web and mobile software development with a focus on educational games. For past and ongoing research work, find out more at bioacoustic.games. Some of the fieldwork for his doctoral thesis was on Planet Birdsong’s work in schools and communities in Yorkshire.

Hilary MacBean is a retired UK Chartered Town Planner with an interest in sustainable development practice who now focuses on bird and wildlife conservation. She is leading the Planet Birdsong Foundation partnership with the University of Rwanda Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, is working on appropriate bio-acoustic recording and processing techniques, and is supporting the logistical and organisational side of the project. She has visited Rwanda several times since 2015 and is involved in mentoring and training young bird guides for international tourism while bringing awareness and knowledge of bird sounds to guides and students. Her underlying interests are in bird life conservation and data as an indicator of biodiversity health, aimed at a holistic and sustainable approach to conservation and community development.

Tobias Masterton comes from a musical family and was a keen boy chorister. He spent over 30 years in the British Army, United Nations and NATO, provided evidence to international war crimes tribunals and served in the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia. He has extensive experience in conservation, the illegal wildlife trade, modern slavery and human trafficking with postgraduate qualifications from King’s College, London and Columbia University, New York. He was executive director of Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s global education campaign and remains an ambassador of the Tutu Foundation UK. He’s a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, an associate member of the Centre for Conflict and Health Research at King’s College, London and a member of the English Speaking Union. He was a senior associate fellow with the Advanced Research and Assessment Group at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, development committee member of PAN Intercultural Arts, development director of a business and arts initiative affiliated with the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra & Choir, senior adviser to the world’s first diaspora remittances investment platform, and strategic adviser to a technology group with unique potential to scale citizen science data collection. He’s developing plans for a centre of excellence in food/water security and climate resilience in a geostrategic African country. With an emphasis on young people especially women and girls, this will enable civil society, NGOs and traditional leaders to partner with academia, the private sector and philanthropic institutions.