Conducting and Academic Work

I hold a Doctor of Music Arts in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa (2002), where I studied under Timothy Stalter and William Hatcher. I hold a Masters of Arts in Music in Conducting and Performance Practice from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1998), where I studied with Nicole Paiement. I specialize in music for women’s choir, Swedish choral music, the music of Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist, and issues of gender and music.

I aim to work with choirs to develop stylistically diverse and accurate musical styles. My programs contain an area of focus, so that singers and audiences develop a deeper understanding of an area of music in the process of developing a program or listening to a concert. However, within each program, a great diversity of style is explored, illuminating the breadth within each idea. For example, a program of music by Swedish composers included quality arrangements folk music, romantic part songs, and challenging modern works, as well as pieces in five languages.

I believe that each singer contributes to the whole of the group. Rather than remove a singers vocal character to sing in a choir, I work with singers to identify a healthy vocal technique that will blend due to its health and focus. I am available to all singers in the ensembles I direct for a few free lessons to work on personal vocal technique.

I conduct the University Classical Choral Ensembles at the University of San Francisco and Sacred and Profane Chamber Chorus in Oakland. I frequently work as a conductor for choral festivals and honors choirs, clinician, and choral competition adjudicator.

©2021 Rebecca Petra Naomi Seeman