Choral Professional Development

Australian-born conductor Heather J. Buchanan, PhD, is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities in the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University (MSU), New Jersey, where she conducts choirs ranging in size from 24 – 175 voices. Choirs under her direction have earned critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction,” “vibrant sound,” “grace and precision,” being a “marvel of diction, tuning and rhythm, “impeccable dynamics and diction,” “eloquence,” “new-minted enthusiasm and vibrancy,” and for singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.”

Her 36-year career encompasses experience with her own high school, university, and community choirs as well as regular professional-level collaborations with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She has prepared choirs for conductors Neeme Järvi, Jacques LaCombe, Xian Zhang, Patrick Duprè Quigley, Rodrick Cox, and John Maucceri for masterwork performances including Verdi Messa da Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Orff Carmina Burana, Handel Messiah, Fauré Requiem, Beethoven Symphony No. 9/Choral, Mahler Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, and Howard Shore’s Academy Award winning The Lord of the Rings Symphony. She has also collaborated with internationally renowned artists Meredith Monk, Richard Alston Dance Company (UK), and members of the Vienna Philharmonic Strings.

A Licensed Body Mapping Educator since 2002, Dr. Buchanan specializes in the teaching of this neuro-anatomical approach for enhancing music performance. A vibrant teacher, dynamic performer, and passionate musicians’ health advocate, Dr. Buchanan is in demand as a guest conductor, somatic educator, and choral clinician in the US and abroad. Her collaborative partner is pianist Steven W. Ryan, with whom she has enjoyed a 17-year professional relationship at MSU.

Heather’s attendance at Festival of Voices is kindly supported by the Australian National Choral Association.

Image credit: Tom Russo