Stan Engebretson

Stan Engebretson came to Washington DC in 1990 as the director of choral studies at George Mason University and director of music at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. In 1994, Engebretson became the director of the Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra, which in 2005 led to his position as artistic director of the National Philharmonic Chorale. Previously, he held similar academic and professional positions in Minnesota and Texas. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano and voice from the University of North Dakota, and a DMA in conducting from Stanford University. Additional advanced study grants provided him an opportunity to work with great choral mentors of our time, including Eric Ericson, Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, Richard Westenburg, Roger Wagner, and Margaret Hillis. A frequent guest conductor and clinician, Engebretson has appeared throughout the United States and abroad, most notably in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Russia, Lithuania, Korea, and Iceland. As a lecturer, he served as a senior specialist with the Fulbright Foundation and speaks annually for Smithsonian Institution events such as Spoleto USA.