Conductor and Composer Dale Warland to Receive Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati

He is praised as one of the most significant figures in American choral music today. Distinguished conductor and composer Dale Warland will receive an Honorary Doctor of Performing Arts at the University of Cincinnati Commencement Ceremony at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 13, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

As the creator of the legendary Dale Warland Singers in 1972, Warland shaped a choral ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technical finesse and stylistic range. Over its 32 years of existence, Warland not only mastered the traditional repertoire but commissioned 270 new works and presented more than 400 concerts.

The chorus performed its final concert on May 30, 2004, following the board and conductor’s decision to disband the ensemble. During their final season (2003-04), the Dale Warland Singers selected the UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the University of Cincinnati Libraries to hold its score library and archives. The collection holds multiple copies of more than 1,100 choral works and arrangements; first-edition copied of all 270 works commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers; papers including all organizational and artistic records; and a media library that includes more than 300 audio and video recordings of the ensemble’s performances.  The collection was shipped to CCM in the summer of 2004.

“The quality of Warland’s artistry in the choral arts, and the significance of his professional positions, honors and awards, guest conducting and teaching engagements, compositions and arrangements, and publications and recordings are a testament to his extraordinary accomplishments and achievements,” says Earl Rivers, UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) professor of music, director of choral studies and head of the Division of Ensembles and Conducting.

Warland’s many honors include the Robert Shaw Award in Choral Music (2007) from the American Choral Directors Association, the 2006 Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia’s Individual Leadership in Choral Music Award, the Champion of New Music Award from the American Composers Forum (2005), honorary doctorates from Macalester College and the University of Minnesota (2004), a Distinguished Master Artist Award from the University of South Florida (2004), a Grammy nomination of Walden Pond for best choral performance (2003), the prestigious ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Victor Herbert Award (2003) in recognition of Warland’s artistic contributions, the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision (2003), and a special award from Chorus America and ASCAP for Warland’s “pioneering vision, leadership and commitment to commissioning and performing new choral works at the highest level of artistry” (2002).  Other awards and recognition include the 2001 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal; the 2001 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements as a choral conductor and his continued contribution to the arts in Minnesota; and the 1995 Michael Korn Founders Award, the highest honor for a choral conductor in the United States, previously awarded to Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis and Roger Wagner, among others.  

Warland’s appearances as a guest conductor have taken him to the podiums of the Swedish Radio Choir, Danish Radio Choir, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, the Utah Chamber Artists, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Rochester Choral Arts and Israel’s Cameran Singers, to name a few.  Warland has also rehearsed and prepared choirs for performances of major works in collaboration with notable conductors and composers including Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Sir Neville Marriner, Krzystof Penderecki, Roger Norrington, James Conlon, Hugh Wolff,  Bobby McFerrin, and Douglas Boyd.
 
Warland is committed to sharing his knowledge about the choral arts and has served on the jury for the Eric Ericson Award (an international choral conducting competition held in Sweden); was a faculty member for the All-Japan Chorus League National Competition in Fukuoka, Japan; has lectured on American music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki; served on the artistic staff of the Tolosa Choral Festival in Spain; acted as co-chair of both the choral and recording panels of the National Endowment for the Arts; and completed a 19-year tenure as Director of Choral Music at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Warland’s compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by choruses throughout the country. As editor, he has established choral series with G. Schirmer, Hal Leonard, earthsongs, Colla Voce and Walton Music.

Warland remains active as guest conductor, composer, teacher and producer of choral programs for public radio. He resides in Minnesota with his wife, Ruth.

A UC exhibit created by the College-Conservatory of Music Library features the Dale Warland Singers collection. The exhibit is currently on display on the fourth floor of UC’s Blegen Library. An online exhibit of the collection was created by the Archives and Rare Books Library.