Navigating a Music Director Transition

An Online Seminar

January 10, 2012

Responding to survey data that revealed that 33% of responding conductors were founding directors that anticipated retiring from their ensembles within 5-10 years, Chorus America created this online seminar, Navigating a Music Director Transition. The 4-part seminar is a vital resource for any choruses anticipating an artistic change.

Video seminar under construction:

The four videos that are part of this seminar are currently unavailble as we transition this technology to an updated format. We hope the downloads below, including practical worksheets and tools, are helpful in the meantime.

Downloads

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Speaker Bios

Jay Baylin
Jay BaylinJay Baylin (deceased) was a member of the Board of Directors of Chicago's Music of the Baroque and served as its Chairman from 1989 to 1997. During his Board tenure he served as Treasurer, Budget Committee Chairman, Benefit Chairman, and Marketing Committee Chairman. In 2001, he was a member of the organization’s Conductor Search Committee, which resulted in a successful transition from the departure of a founding music director who led the organization for many years to the leadership of a new conductor.
 
Joyce Garrett
Joyce GarrettJoyce Garrett served as Director of the award-winning Eastern High School Choir of Washington, D.C. for 27 years. Under her direction, the choir performed at music festivals in Europe, made numerous national television appearances including the annual special Christmas in Washington, and sang with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, and James Taylor. Recently, she became the Founder and Advisor of the Washington Youth Choir, a city-wide urban youth chorus fashioned after the school choral program she headed up for so many years.
 
Susan Knight
Susan KnightSusan Knight founded SHALLAWAY–Newfoundland and Labrador Youth in Chorus. She retired as Artistic Director in 2011, but put plans into place four years prior to her departure to prepare a seamless transition for successor and the choristers in the program.
 
Anne Heider Anne HeiderAnne Heider is the Former Artistic Director of Bella Voce. Under her leadership, the ensemble established an outstanding reputation both in the Chicago area and nationally. When she decided to retire, board leaders initially decided to close the organization's doors after a final celebratory concert. Just a few months later, a core group led Bella Voce to begin anew, and they are singing once again under the direction of a new conductor.
Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthyMike McCarthy has served as Treasurer and Board Member of VocalEssence, Board Chairman of The American Composers Forum, and as both Chairman and Treasurer of the Dale Warland Singers. In the online seminar, he shares perspectives from his experiences with the Dale Warland Singers, which closed its doors when the famed conductor retired.
 
Donald McCullough
Donald McCulloughDonald McCullough was Artistic Director of the Master Chorale of Washington (originally the Paul Hill Singers) until the organization closed its doors in 2009. Prior to his move to D.C. in 1996, he founded two organizations in Norfolk, Virginia that continue to thrive today—the Virginia Symphony Chorus and the Virginia Chorale. Don shares his insights about founders, and about the challenges new conductors can face when following founding music directors.
 
Diana Sáez
Diana SáezDiana Sáez is the Founder and Artistic Director of Coral Cantigas, a chorus in the Washington, D.C. area that specializes in the performance of music from Latin America, Spain, and the Caribbean. Coral Cantigas shares the artistic and cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world and serves as a bridge between the Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking communities. Ms. Sáez is just beginning to consider how the organization she founded would handle a music director transition when the time comes.
 
Duain Wolfe
Duain WolfeDuain Wolfe has experienced music director transitions from many perspectives. In 1994, he succeeded Margaret Hillis to become Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Mr. Wolfe is also Founder/Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus and, in 1999, he retired from the Colorado Children’s Chorale—an organization that he founded and conducted for 25 years.

Credits

This Chorus America Online Seminar was made possible with generous support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Chorus America's programs are also made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts

We also extend special thanks to the project collaborators:

  • J. Dolan Barry
  • Jay Baylin
  • Chip Brienza
  • Jack Frost
  • Joyce Garrett
  • Linda Goldstein
  • Anne Heider
  • Danielle Lees
  • Mark Litzler
  • Michael McCarthy
  • Donald McCullough
  • Francisco Núñez
  • Alessandra Souers
  • Diana Sáez
  • Margo Stedman
  • Jessica Sullivan
  • Duain Wolfe
  • WETA Studios
  • Chris Yie

Online Seminar Project Team:

  • Mary Ann de Barbieri, Content Developer
  • Larry R. Larson, Larson Associates, Producer
  • Jamie Roberts, Project Director

For more information about working with your conductor and navigating music director transitions, check out:

CONDUCTORS COUNT

What Chorus Boards, Music Directors, and Administrators Need To Know

This book from Chorus America offers practical advice on building relationships, balancing careers, and managing leadership transitions.