Continuum Vocal Ensemble

St. Louis’s Continuum Vocal Ensemble is redefining the choral music experience with a mission to deliver innovative programming in unconventional venues and foster an engaged community of supporters. Audience members have praised this fresh approach, describing Continuum events as “stunning,” “precisely beautiful,” and “unlike any other performance offered in St. Louis!” Founded in 2023 by Dr. John McDonald, Director of Choirs at Washington University in St. Louis, Continuum is rapidly gaining momentum and excitement for vocal ensemble music. The ensemble premieres progressive new works by living composers alongside timeless choral classics and contemporary a cappella arrangements, performs in unique spaces such as art museums, marketing offices, and photo studios, and provides networking and community-building opportunities for attendees at every event.

Dr. John McDonald is the Director of Choirs and Vocal Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, conductor of Cantus, the St. Louis Children’s Choirs tenor-bass ensemble, and artistic director and founder of Continuum Vocal Ensemble, a professional choir based in St. Louis. A sought-after guest conductor and clinician, he has led workshops across the United States and in Europe. John currently serves as the chair of the Communication and Education Committee for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and is a member of the National Board for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In 2023, he was selected as one of six conductors to represent ACDA in the International Conductors Exchange Program with Germany.
John holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, a Master of Music from East Carolina University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Middle Tennessee State University.