Jamie Hillman
Session 7
Friday March 11th - 2:00pm
The Choral Legacy of R. Nathaniel Dett
Session Description
This interactive session discusses the life, legacy, and choral music of R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), the Canadian and American composer, conductor, and professor at a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dett's contributions to 20th-century choral music are significant and long-lasting. Through a combination of demonstration choir performances, delegate participation and professional recordings, this session introduces and reintroduces several pieces by Dett, focusing on performance practice of his spiritual arrangements, salient characteristics of his compositional style, and conductor analysis. The presenter will also share how to access Dett's works and ideas for creatively programming them.
Clinician Bio
Dr. Jamie Hillman is an American and Canadian musician, active as a conductor, singer, pianist, and music educator. He holds the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he conducts the MacMillan Singers and leads the MMus and DMA programs in Choral Conducting. Prior to his appointment at UofT, Hillman served on the faculties of Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Gordon College, Kodály Music Institute, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. He has led All-State or honor choirs in Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada.