“The world of choral music owes her special thanks.” —Robert Shaw
Doreen Rao, Artistic Director of the Toronto Bach Festival, is a distinguished conductor and scholar whose work in music performance and music education is recognized internationally. Her career as a conductor and teacher links the standards of professional performance with the goals of music education.
Appointed to the Faculty of Music as the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting, Doreen Rao is Artistic Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Choral Music, an innovative university enrichment program of the Performance & Music Education Divisions which connects young singers, conductors and composers with prominent performing artists and educators. As Director of Choral Programs, Dr. Rao conducts the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and the MacMillan Chamber Singers. Her award-winning choirs enjoy regular collaborations with the Elmer Iseler Singers, the University of Toronto Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, faculty artists and distinguished composers in North America and Europe.
Doreen Rao was educated in the United States, earning her M. Mus. and Ph. D. from Northwestern University. She has received numerous awards including the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Citation for “her significant and lasting contributions to the cause of American music.”
Dr. Rao founded the American Choral Directors Association’s National Committee on Children’s Choirs, which inspired and informed the children’s choir movement in America. She has been honoured by the American Choral Directors Association for “her commitment to choral excellence,” and by the YWCA for “her outstanding leadership in Arts and Culture.” Doreen Rao is also Founder-Artistic Director of the New Millennium Festival and the CME Institute for Choral Teacher Education, a professional development program for singers, conductors, and composers which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006.
