PARTICIPANTS UNIVERSITAS CANTAT 2019
Eastern Michigan University Choir - Ypsilanti, USA
Conductor: dr Brandon Johnson
Eastern Michigan University Choir - Ypsilanti, USA
Founded in 1880 the acclaimed Eastern Michigan University Choir is a 50-voice auditioned mixed ensemble whose membership is selected from the finest singers across our 22,000-person campus. Whether performing a renaissance mass setting, an African American spiritual or a choral-orchestral masterwork, the choir commits itself to artistic achievement.
Recent invited performances and accolades include: 2018 Central/North Central Divisional American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Conference, special performance with Andrea Bocelli and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 2018 National Honor Choir Performance at Carnegie Hall, 2018 Michigan Music Conference Performance, 2017 American Prize Finalists and the 2017 Michigan ACDA Fall Conference Performance. In addition to the annual domestic performances, the EMU Choir has performed widely through Europe, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States.
From prestigious Carnegie Hall to the everyday rehearsal, the EMU Choir commits itself fully to the highest level of choral achievement.
Brandon Johnson, DMA is the Director of Choral Activities at Eastern Michigan University and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Detroit Concert Choir. He has conducted professional musicians across the United States while maintaining his extensive work with students of all ages. He has performed in venues across the country including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and will return to the stage of the renowned Carnegie Hall in 2018 & 2019.
Respected by his faculty colleagues he has been awarded multiple teaching and artistic awards. At Eastern Michigan University he was selected to receive the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Creative Activity Award, the highest honor the University presents to an individual faculty member. At Houghton College he accepted both the Excellence in Teaching Award, and was the inaugural recipient of the first fully endowed chair at Houghton College, the Horne-Blanchard.
Choirs under his direction have been invited to perform for state and regional American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAFME) conferences. As a conducting pedagogue his students have been invited to participate in the ACDA National Conducting Competition.
He has studied with German conductor Helmuth Rilling and was selected to conduct the Grammy winning Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra. In recent years, he has received invitations to conduct the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, Buffalo Choral Artists, Continuo Arts Orchestra, Michigan Sinfonietta, Rochester Oratorio Society, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony, Cordancia and The Southern Tier Symphony. In addition to working with musicians from across the United States, he has conducted singers from Austria, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and the Ukraine.
In service to the profession, Johnson has served the American Choral Directors Association in many capacities, including as New York State President. In addition he serves the Michigan State Vocal Music Association as the High School Required Repertoire chair. He has lead honor choirs and held master-classes abroad (Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy) and at home (Alabama, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) He works tirelessly as a guest conductor, lecturer and clinician for singers of all ages.
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