E. Wayne Abercrombie

Last updated
E. Wayne Abercrombie
Birth nameEverett Wayne Abercrombie
Born (1938-08-30) August 30, 1938 (age 85)
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin Atlanta, Georgia
Occupation(s) Conductor, educator
Instrument(s) Voice

Everett Wayne Abercrombie (born August 30, 1938) is an American conductor and a Professor Emeritus of Music and Director of Choral Programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. [1]

Abercrombie studied at Emory University and Westminster Choir College, earning the B.M. (Voice) and M.M. (Conducting) degrees at the latter, as a student of Julius Herford, Nicholas Harsanyi, and Warren Martin. In 1974 he received the D. Mus. degree in Choral Conducting with Highest Honors from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, studying there with Julius Herford, Fiora Contino and Don Moses. [2]

He has been Assistant Conductor and Chorus Director of the Johnstown (PA) Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Elkhart (IN) and Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra Choruses. He taught and conducted at West Georgia College and Indiana University at South Bend, has taught voice and sung recitals and solos with orchestra, and was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus under Robert Shaw. He is on the advisory board of Arcadia Players. [3] As of August, 2010, he is the Music Director of the Pioneer Valley Cappella. [4] In 2007, he and Vera Baker founded the Children's Chorus of Springfield, a choir that is very prestigious.

He is married to Massachusetts American Choral Directors Association board member Kayla Werlin. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Shaw (conductor)</span> American conductor

Robert Lawson Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Choir College</span> Music conservatory at Rider University

Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences, the college under which the historic institution has been reorganized, consists of Westminster Choir College as well as three additional schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Litton</span> American musician (1934–2022)

James Litton was an American musician, who directed the American Boychoir from 1985 to 2001, and is widely recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of the day.

Jeffrey Douma is the Director of the Yale Glee Club and the Marshall Bartholomew Professor in the Practice of Choral Music at the Yale School of Music. He is the founding Director of the Yale Choral Artists and serves as Artistic Director of the Yale International Choral Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Hillis</span> American conductor

Margaret Eleanor Hillis was an American conductor. She was the founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus.

Jerry Blackstone is a Grammy Award winning American choral conductor. He was the Director of Choirs and Chair of the Conducting Department at the University of Michigan and the Music Director of the University Musical Society Choral Union.

Donald M. Kendrick is Music Director at Sacred Heart Church in Sacramento, California, where he conducts the Schola Cantorum and Vox Nova, and Founder and Artistic Director of the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. From 1985–2018, Kendrick was Director of Choral Activities at California State University, Sacramento. In 2007 he was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Capitol Section of the California Music Educators Association (CMEA). He is also the founder and past artistic director of the Sacramento Children's Chorus.

Bennett William Macpherson is an Australian conductor who received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002 for his services to music as a conductor and choirmaster.

Iwan Edwards was a Welsh-born Canadian choral conductor. Over a forty-year span he founded and conducted several choirs. He was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melinda O'Neal</span>

Melinda O'Neal is a conductor of choral and choral-orchestral music, professor emerita of music, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Halsey</span> English choral conductor

Simon Halsey, CBE is an English choral conductor. He is the chorus director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, a position he has held since 1983, and has been chorus director of the London Symphony Chorus since 2012. He is also artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic Youth Choral Programme and the director of the BBC Proms Youth Choir, and conductor laureate of the Berlin Radio Choir. He is professor and director of choral activities at the University of Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Bailey (conductor)</span>

Mark Bailey is an American conductor and baroque violist. He is the founder and artistic director of the American Baroque Orchestra. Bailey specializes in Slavic music of the 17th and 18th centuries, in addition to baroque, classical, and romantic repertoire, and is the current director of the Yale Russian Chorus. Bailey frequently guest conducts ensembles such as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Cappella Romana, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Pro Coro Canada. He often gives presentations on Slavic baroque music and historical performance practice, and has been a principal guest speaker for the Great Performers series, the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City, the 2016 Musicking Conference at the University of Oregon, and the Indiana University International Performance Practice Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bruffy</span> American choral conductor

Charles Bruffy is an American choral conductor. He is artistic director of the Kansas City Chorale in Kansas City, Missouri, and is Chorus Director of the Kansas City Symphony. He lives in Kansas City.

David Hayes is an American conductor.

Donald Neuen is an American choral conductor, composer, arranger, editor, and educator who was formerly the Distinguished Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Activities at the University of California, Los Angeles. He conducted the UCLA Chorale while teaching courses in conducting and directing one of the most respected graduate programs in choral conducting in the United States. He was 80 years old when he retired.

Gerald Richard Fagan is considered one of Canada's premier choral conductors. He is the former Conductor and Artistic Director of Fanshawe Chorus London, The Gerald Fagan Singers, and the Concert Players Orchestra. He has been married to Marlene Fagan since 1961. They have five children; Leslie, Louise, Judy, Jennifer and Jonathon.

Alan Heatherington is one of the leading orchestra conductors in Illinois. He has conducted and/or played with virtually all of the major orchestras in the Chicago area. He was the Music Director of Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Master Singers, and is Music Director Emeritus of all three ensembles.

Ragnar Bohlin is a Swedish conductor born in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Penson Williams</span>

Julius Penson Williams, is an American composer, conductor, and college professor. He is currently president of the Conductors Guild. An author of both instrumental and vocal music, Julius Williams has composed operas, symphonies, and chorus works for stage, concert hall, film, and television. Primarily a classically trained musician, Williams also writes in genres including gospel, jazz, and other contemporary forms.

Daniel Troen Moe was an American choral conductor, composer, and pedagogue. He was director of choral organizations for the University of Iowa, professor of choral conducting at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and founding music director of Key Chorale in Sarasota, Florida. He was a published composer and author. He was once hailed by The New Yorker music critic Andrew Porter as "that dean of choral conductors."

References

  1. "E. Wayne Abercrombie - ChoralNet". www.choralnet.org. Archived from the original on 2010-02-06.
  2. "Abercrombie Vite" (PDF). people.umass.edu.
  3. "Arcadia Players, Inc. Board Biographies". Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  4. "Home". pioneervalleycappella.org. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  5. "CV's, 2003-2005". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-02-10.