William Henry Caldwell

William Henry Caldwell is currently the resident conductor for the Martin Luther King Celebration Chorus for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Classical Roots Community Chorus for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He also maintains a very active schedule as a lyric baritone with recent engagements with the Cleveland Orchestra, The Dayton Philhamonic, and the Bach Society of Dayton.

A retired full professor of music at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, William Henry Caldwell served as chairman of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and for 34 years as conductor of the Grammy-nominated Central State University Chorus. He holds degrees from Stillman College (BA Magna Cum Laude) and The University of Texas in Austin (MM in Vocal Performance). Mr. Caldwell did further study at The Ohio State University and The University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and advanced studies in Lucca, Italy and Vevey, Switzerland. Mr. Caldwell has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as conductor of the Central State University Chorus. Under his leadership, the Chorus was selected by the World Choir Games Committee and the Cincinnati Convention’s Bureau to travel to Passau, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. The Chorus appeared on Musikantenstadl, a television program sponsored by the German government with more than 8 million viewers. It was under his chairmanship that the Ohio Board of Regents declared the Central State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts a “Center of Excellence”.

Mr. Caldwell adjudicated the Sing’n’Joy International Choral Festival and Competition in Louisville, Kentucky. As an artist, teacher, and conductor, Mr. Caldwell has students that currently appear on Broadway, perform with various opera companies throughout the country and abroad, and serve as college and university professors, as well as award-winning public school music teachers and principals.

Mr. Caldwell has prepared choruses for performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, The Cincinnati May Festival, The Cincinnati Pops, The Indianapolis Pops, The Bach Society of Dayton, The Vocal Arts Ensemble, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras. He recently prepared the MLK Chorus for Robert Porco, conductor of choruses for the Cincinnati and Cleveland Orchestras. Mr. Caldwell has appeared as soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and The Cleveland Orchestra. He appears on the Telarc label in the opera Blue Monday with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Under his leadership the CSU Chorus appears on five Telarc recordings with the Cincinnati Pops and the late Erich Kunzel. He has performed with the Dayton Opera Association and was casted as “Jim” in their latest production of Porgy and Bess. He has performed in Italy, Egypt, and Germany, and the United Kingdom. Mr. Caldwell currently resides in Washington Township, Dayton, Ohio and is choir director at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. He serves on boards for the Cincinnati May Festival, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, The Bach Society of Dayton, and the Mariam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts.