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Doreen Rao is a distinguished conductor and master teacher committed to the dynamic intersections linking choral artistry and music education. Recipient of the 2019 Robert Shaw lifetime achievement award from the American Choral Directors Association for her extraordinary contributions to choral music, Doreen’s seminal work has inspired generations of young singers, accomplished choral teachers and celebrated conductors.
During her formative association with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, she prepared the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus for concerts and recorded performances, winning four Grammy Awards and a Grand Prix du Disque with Sir George Solti, Margaret Hillis, Claudio Abbado and James Levine. As assistant conductor for the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Doreen’s apprenticeship with Margaret Hillis informed her orchestral and choral conducting with a legacy of deep musicianship and enduring professionalism.
Doreen founded and chaired the first ACDA National Committee for Children’s Choirs organizing an inspired divisional and state leadership across the country. She inspired and edited a massive choral repertoire for young treble and SATB choirs, published by Boosey & Hawkes as Choral Music Experience (CME). During the same period, she produced an innovative and on-going professional development curriculum dedicated to emerging conductors and choral teachers, founded as the CME Institute and Certification Courses in Choral Teacher Education.
The first woman to hold an endowed chair in conducting, Doreen carries the prestigious Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting Emeritus at the University of Toronto in perpetuity. She founded and conducted the Faculty of Music MacMillan Singers and Bach Festival Singers for frequent concert collaborations with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Collaborating with the distinguished conductor and Bach scholar Helmuth Rilling, Rao led Canada’s International Bach Festival hosted by the University of Toronto in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the International Bach Academy Stuttgart.
Doreen recently signed with GIA Publications in Chicago as Series Editor of the forthcoming Global Encounters for Young Choirs. She is the author of Circle of Sound Voice Education, a book that serves as the philosophical and practical foundation for her innovative mindfulness approach to conducting and teaching.
