In this atmosphere of educational change, music teachers are being asked to wear multiple hats. This session is designed to help the band or orchestra conductor with a few of the essentials for teaching choir. It is the presenter’s hope that directors will walk away with a realization that they already have a number of the tools needed for success in the choral world and that each will take away a few ideas and resources to develop one’s own choral abilities.
Robert Sinclair
- Biographical Information
Robert L. Sinclair is Dean of Graduate Studies and Director of Choral Activities at VanderCook College of Music. His educational background includes three years at Luther College where he sang in the Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble. He completed his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees at Sam Houston State University with B. R. Henson. In December of 2000, Sinclair completed a Ph. D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Music Education) at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he worked with Drs. David Rayl and Wendy Sims.
Dr. Sinclair's experience includes several years of public school teaching as well as being an active conductor, clinician and adjudicator for junior high and high school students from across the nation and abroad including honor choirs in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, and Japan. He has also served as conductor for All-State Choirs in Illinois and Wisconsin. Sinclair has presented educational sessions on conducting and educational pedagogy to the Music Educators Association in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio, the Illinois and Hawaii Chapters of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), as well as the Central, Southwestern and Southern Divisions of ACDA. In January of 2010, he served as guest conductor for the Illinois All State Choir in Peoria.
He is an active member of ACDA, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Fraternity, and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).