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Biography |
Dr. Aaron Mitchell is the newly-appointed Director of Choral Studies at the Indiana-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He previously held the same position at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada where he was also director of the University Orchestra. He has also served as Sabbatical Instructor of Choral and Vocal Music at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, leading the Concert Choir and Men's Chorus, and teaching voice and conducting, has led choirs and taught conducting at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, and formerly taught music in the public schools in Connecticut. |
A native of California, Mitchell has lived and led choirs in the U.S., Canada, and Brazil. His experience encompasses a variety of ensembles including men's, women's, children's, and mixed choirs, where he is noted for attention to details of the score, a refined ensemble sound, and an energetic rehearsal style that utilizes an effective application of vocal technique for choirs. He is sought after as a clinician and adjudicator, working with |
choirs in both the U.S. and Canada, including guest conductor of the 2009 Saskatchewan Provincial Honor Choir. Under his direction, the U of R Chamber Singers flourished, and were selected to perform at the 2010 national convention of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (ACCC) and chosen by the Vancouver Organizing Committee to perform the official 2010 Olympic Torch Anthem at the relay ceremony in Saskatchewan's capital city. Mitchell holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree (cum laude) from Brigham Young University, studying under some of North America's top choral pedagogues, including Earl Rivers, Alan Harler, Mack Wilberg, Ronald Staheli, as well as Grammy-nominated conductor Dale Warland. He has had additional masterclass and workshop studies with Eric Whitacre, Jon Washburn, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, Dennis Keene and Voices of Ascension, and Stephen Cleobury, among others. He studied orchestral conducting with Luis Biava (Philadelphia Orchestra), Mark Gibson (Cincinnati Conservatory), and Chen Lin (New York Philharmonic), and is also active as a choral composer and arranger. With a particular interest in choral-orchestral repertoire, Dr. Mitchell regularly programmed works with the U of R combined choirs and orchestra. He has also prepared his choirs for performance with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Regina Symphony Orchestra and, as assistant conductor at CCM, for a performance with the Cincinnati Symphony under maestro James Levine. Recent works include Orff's Carmina Burana, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, Faure's Requiem, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Vivaldi's Gloria, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, and Berlioz's Requiem. International study and performance credits include China, Taiwan, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, the U.S. and Canada. With a research interest in Latin American music, Dr. Mitchell is a contributing editor for the publication "A Teacher's Guide: Integrating Music into Latin American History & Culture" (2009), authored a 140-page conductor's guide to Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla, and published two recent articles on the subject in The Choral Journal, including the featured cover article in October 2008. He has served at the national level for The Canada Council for the Arts. |