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Dr. Janet Galván Festival conductor in 2013 Dr. Janet Galván, Professor of Music at Ithaca College, conducts the Ithaca College Women's Chorale, the Ithaca College Chorus, and is Artistic Director for the Ithaca Children's Choir. Dr. Galván's contribution to choral music was recognized by her New York colleagues in 1995 when she received the New York Outstanding Choral Director Award. Dr. Galván has conducted national, regional, and all-state choruses throughout the United States in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Washington's Constitution Hall, Minneapolis' Symphony Hall, Salt Lake's Mormon Tabernacle, and Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall. She was the sixth national honors choir conductor in the over 40-year history of ACDA. Dr. Galván is also the conductor of the North American Children's Chorale which performs annually in Carnegie Hall. She was honored to conduct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2000. Her own choral groups have been chosen to perform at national, regional, and state professional music conferences as well as many invitational choral festivals. Dr. Galván has presented workshops at international, national and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), Chorus America, and the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). She has also been a featured clinician at workshops in Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Her expertise in treble repertoire led to an association with Roger Dean Publishing Company in the origin of the Janet Galván Women's Choir Series and Roots and Wings, a series for young voices. She is the series advisor to Latin Accents, a series with Boosey & Hawkes. She was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Robert Shaw Festival Chorus during Mr. Shaw's final years. | |
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Rollo A. Dilworth Festival conductor in 2012 Rollo A. Dilworth is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities and Music Education at the North Park University School of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He received his Doctor of Music degree in conducting performance at Northwestern University where he studied conducting and composition with Robert A. Harris. Additional composition teachers include Robert Ray, Pauline Oliveros and Marta Ptaszynska. Dilworth's choral compositions are a part of the Henry Leck Creating Artistry Choral Series with Hal Leonard Corporation and Colla Voce Music Company. He has recently published pieces with the Santa Barbara Music Publishing Company as part of the Mary Alice Stollak Choral Series. Dilworth is a contributing author for the Essential Elements for Choir and the Experiencing Choral Music textbook series, both published by the Hal Leonard Corporation/Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Publications, and for Music Express! Teachers Magazine. An active conductor, composer, educator, and clinician, Dilworth has taught choral music at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. His performing endeavors have taken him to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. In addition to composing music in the choral genre, his research interests are in the areas of African-American music and music education curriculum and instruction. Dilworth is an active member of the Music Educators National Conference, the National Association of Negro Musicians, the American Choral Directors Association, and Chorus America. He currently serves on the ACDA Central Division Board of Directors as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Multicultural and Ethnic music. | |
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Francisco J. Núñez Festival conductor in 2011 Born in New York City of Dominican descent, Francisco J. Núñez is a composer, conductor, a leading figure in music education, and a visionary, whose strongly held ideas have resulted in the critical and popular success of the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC). Mr. Nunez formed the YPC in 1988 with two goals in mind: commitments to musical excellence and to providing an atmosphere where young people of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds could further their personal and artistic growth through the study and performance of music, and today he is often contacted by cities around the country for help in replicating the YPC success. For his exemplary work with children, Mr. Núñez has been presented with numerous awards, such as the Child Champion award from Child magazine, a Liberty Award from the New York Post, and a Luminary Award from Casita Maria. He was recently named as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics of 2005 by Hispanic Business magazine and selected for GMC's advertising campaign as an unsung Hispanic hero doing great work in his community. An editor at Boosey & Hawkes, Chester Novello, and G. Schirmer publishing companies, Mr. Nunez is also a composer, whose award-winning works and arrangements for choirs, orchestras, and solo instruments are inspired by a wide range of Latin cultures and musical idioms. As a conductor, Mr. Núñez also leads the University Glee Club of New York City, the NYU University Singers, and NYU Women's Chorus, and is active as a guest conductor and master teacher for choral workshops, demonstrations, and festivals nationwide. | |
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Dr. Doreen Rao Festival conductor in 2008 and 2010 Doreen Rao's distinguished career as conductor and master teacher links the standards of professional performance with the goals of music education. Celebrated for her spirited and moving concerts, Rao's commitment to choral music education is recognized in her innovative programming, teaching initiatives, worldwide conducting appearances and her award winning publications with Boosey & Hawkes. Rao holds the University of Toronto Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting. As the Director of Choral Programs, Dr. Rao founded the Faculty of Music's Centre for Advanced Studies in Choral Music which supports and enriches the Faculty's ensemble and conducting programs, hosts the Elmer Iseler Singers and sponsors the International Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling. Rao conducts the award-winning University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and Chamber Choirs, leads the University's graduate program in conducting, and teaches graduate research and philosophy courses related to music performance in education. Recognized as one of the world's leading experts on children and youth choirs, Doreen Rao founded and chaired the ACDA National Committee for Children's Choirs, pioneering work that inspired the children's choir movement in America. In a national tribute presented to her by the American Choral Director's Association, eminent American conductor Robert Shaw wrote, "The world of choral music owes her special thanks. She is preparing our future." During Rao's long association with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, she served as assistant conductor to her mentor Margaret Hillis and prepared choruses for concerts and Grammy Award-winning recordings with Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, and James Levine. Her choirs also performed on numerous occasions with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival. Following her undergraduate education at the University of Illinois, Rao spent the first years of her career in Chicago singing professionally and teaching choral music in the schools. She served as Music Director and Conductor of the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, an ensemble that performed and recorded regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Rao's innovative Sing with the Symphony school and family concerts were first introduced by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to actively involve audiences in listening as performers. In a pioneering career of "firsts," Rao conducts honor choirs, all-state choirs and festival choirs for numerous national and international conferences, associations and performance organizations around the world. Doreen Rao is the Founding Director of the CME Institute for Choral Teacher Education, an internationally acclaimed professional development program for conductors, composers, choirs and teachers. She is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the New Millennium Festival Concerts, an innovative peacemaking initiative with concert series in New York, Toronto and London. Dr. Rao served as Guest Conductor for Classical Movements' inaugural Melodia! South American Music Festival in 2006. We are pleased that she is returning to conduct Melodia! 2008, and look ahead to her leadership in Melodia! 2010. | |
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María Guinand Festival conductor in 2009 María Guinand conducts the Cantoría Alberto Grau, the Orfeón Universitario Simón Bolívar, and the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela. She has conducted the World Youth Choir, as well as numerous performances of La Pasión segun San Marcos (St. Mark Passion) composed by Osvaldo Golijov around the world. The piece was commissioned by Helmuth Rilling to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of J. S. Bach. It was premiered at the 2000 European Music Festival with the Schola Cantorum de Caracas (now of Venezeula) and the Orquesta La Pasión. For her Golijov's Pasión según San Marcos recording, Guinand was nominated to the 2001 Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category and to the 2002 Latin Grammy Award in the Best Classical Album category. Guinand's qualifications include:
Guinand has also served as:
"I could see the joy and happiness in the faces of all of the members of the children's choruses attending the Melodia! Festival. Classical Movements' concern, commitment and organization were superb, and let the choruses enjoy at a first class level the marvelous experiences of singing together and meeting other cultures." Oscar Escalada, Guest Conductor of Melodia!, Professor of Conducting and Composition at Conservatory of La Plata | |
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