A Western Response to Life, Death and Beyond - Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, scholar and conductor, from the University of Arizona, USA.

Death, memorializing those who have departed and comforting the living have been significant aspects of western religious thought and artistic expression for centuries. Fauré in his exquisitely beautiful REQUIEM, provides a unique and profoundly satisfying perspective to this ultimate human experience.

BRUCE CHAMBERLAIN, Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Arizona School of Music, brings to these positions over 30 years of professional and collegiate experience. In addition to the standing-room-only performances by the Arizona Choir on campus this year, his guest conducting dates have included the Tennessee All-State Orchestra in February, an ACDA Central Division Conference in March, an all-Brahms concert with the New York Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall in May, followed by a performance with the Nassim Al Saba Choir and master classes at the American University of Sharjah, UAE, and he will conclude the summer conducting concerti grossi of Handel, Bach and Stravinsky on the Saint Andrews Bach Society concert series in August. Previously, Chamberlain has appeared with the symphony orchestras of St. Petersburg (Russia), San Antonio (TX), Jackson (TN), the Imperial Symphony Orchestra (FL), the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, the Czech Virtuosi Orchestra (Brno), the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, The Tucson Chamber Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, Festival Orchestra of Iowa and most recently, the SoliAll Philharmonic and Ryul Chamber Orchestra in Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Chamberlain won the National Conducting Competition sponsored by the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles in 1987 and in 1990 was selected from an international field of conductors as the only American to conduct on the final concert of the prestigious 21st Annual Oregon Bach Festival.His reputation as a conducting pedagogue has attracted students from every region of the United States and from 5 of the 7 continents on the planet to Tucson to study in the UA Graduate Choral Conducting program. Now recognized as one of the leading programs of its kind, UA graduate choral conducting students have been finalists in the last six ACDA National Conducting Competitions-Graduate Division and WINNERS in 2005 and 2011 along with winning the Julius Herford Prize for outstanding research in choral music in 2007.

A summa cum laude graduate of the Indiana University School of Music with Bachelor's, Master's and DMus degrees, Chamberlain studied conducting with Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis and John Nelson, piano with Menachem Pressler, Wallace Hornibrook and Nicholas Zumbro, and has continued choral/orchestral conducting studies with Helmut Rilling, Andrew Davis, Dale Warland and Robert Page. Bruce and his wife, Peggy, have four children and enjoy traveling but always look forward to getting back to their home in Tucson.

For more information please contact ksawaf@aus.edu