Donald Nally Explained

Donald Nally
Landscape:yes
Birth Date:27 December 1960
Birth Place:Hilltown, Pennsylvania, USA
Occupation:conductor
Years Active:1996–present
Associated Acts:The Crossing

Donald Nally (born December 27, 1960) is an American conductor, chorus master, and professor of conducting, specializing in chamber choirs, opera, and new music. Nally has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, of which he has won 3. He is the current director of Choral studies at Westminster Choir College, and conductor of the professional new-music choir, The Crossing, based in Philadelphia.

Nally has been chorus master of Lyric Opera of Chicago,[1] Welsh National Opera,[2] Opera Philadelphia,[3] and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.[4]

He has been nominated ten times for the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, winning in 2018, 2019, and 2023. He has won numerous awards and is recognized as one of the leading commissioners of new music in the United States.

Early life and education

Nally was born in Hilltown, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM, music education), Westminster Choir College (MM, choral conducting), and the University of Illinois (DMA, choral conducting). He has been Artist in Residence at Washington and Lee University and Shorter University, has been on the faculty of the University of Illinois, and has been guest lecturer at Indiana University and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Professional life

Nally’s first professional chamber choir was The Bridge Ensemble which sang concerts 1996-1997; though it failed financially, it established a significant presence in Philadelphia, receiving a great amount of critical attention and laying the groundwork for the success of The Crossing.

From 1998 to 2002, he was Artistic Director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, during which time the chorus received Chorus America’s 2002 Margaret Hillis National Award for Excellence and was chosen as “The Best of Philadelphia” by Philadelphia Magazine.[5]

At the end of 2002, Nally left Philadelphia and moved to Wales to become the chorus master at Welsh National Opera. In 2006, Nally returned to the United States to become the chorus master for the Lyric Opera of Chicago.[6]

Nally has guest conducted the Swedish Radio Choir,[7] the Latvian State Choir, the Grant Park Symphony Chorus,[8] and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale;[9] he has prepared choirs for the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra (including the world premiere of Hannibal’s One Heart Beating),[10] the Pennsylvania Ballet,[11] the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Spoleto USA. Nally collaborates often on living-art installations with the artists Allora & Calzadilla, with scores by David Lang, which have been staged in Frankfurt, Osaka, Edmonton, Cleveland, Córdoba, London, Philadelphia, and Houston.[12] He was music director for Lang's The Mile-Long Opera, overseeing a thousand singers on The High Line in Manhattan.[13]

The Crossing

See main article: The Crossing (choral ensemble). The ensemble began in 2005 when Nally and a group of friends sang an informal concert together. At the end of the 2010-11 season, Nally left Lyric Opera of Chicago and moved back to Philadelphia to focus on his Philadelphia ensemble, The Crossing, which specializes in contemporary works. It has received numerous awards, including the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming[14] (2009, 2011 & 2017), the American Composers Forum 2017 Champion of New Music Award,[15] the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, and the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance.

Northwestern University

In September 2012, Nally joined the faculty of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois as a tenured professor and director of choral organizations.[16] He was appointed following the retirement of longtime professor Dr. Robert A. Harris, who held the position for the 35 years previous to Nally's appointment.[17] Upon arriving in Evanston in the fall of 2012 Nally founded the chamber choir BCE, a premier group of 26 singers dedicated to performing choral music of the 21st century and drawing relationships to its polyphonic roots in early music – primarily that of the Renaissance.[18]

The ensemble has sung several times on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra MusicNOW series[19] and appeared at both of Chicago's Ear Taxi festivals.[20]

In 2013, Nally rehearsed Howard Hanson's Song of Democracy, which sets texts from various poems of Walt Whitman.[21] An African American student objected to performing the work because he claimed Whitman was racist.[22] Nally told the student he would receive a failing grade if he did not perform the work.[22] The student claimed that a failing grade would have led to the loss of his scholarship.[23]

Awards and distinctions

Works

Publications

Musical Compositions

Discography

Notes and References

  1. Carillo, Carmel. "Lyric Opera names chorus master, "Chicago Tribune", December 20, 2006.
  2. Web site: Welsh National Opera 2004/2005 Season. theatre-wales.co.uk. 2004-06-29. 2015-04-22.
  3. Stearns, David Patrick. "Donald Nally, and a choir with intelligence", "The Philadelphia Inquirer", December 25, 2006.
  4. Valdes, Lesley. "Choral Group Forming Here Will Sing In Italy", "The Philadelphia Inquirer", December 23, 1993.
  5. 2002. "Best of Philly 2002 Choral Group Philadelphia Weekly.
  6. Schweitzer, Vivien. "Donald Nally Appointed Chorus Master of Lyric Opera of Chicago" Playbill, December 20, 2006.
  7. Web site: EXILE – THE DISPLACED - Radiokören . www.radiokoren.se . en.
  8. Rhein, John von. "Grant Park chorus master readies singers for a busy festival summer", "The Chicago Tribune", June 11, 2013.
  9. Web site: Singers Lend "Glorious Voices" to Choral Concert. santafe.com. 2008-06-19. 2015-04-22.
  10. Dobrin, Peter. "Forgiveness Oratorio 1st Centennial Work", "The Philadelphia Inquirer", December 04, 1999.
  11. Zimmer, Elizabeth. "A Dazzling Premiere And A Glossy Period Piece", "The Philadelphia Inquirer", March 19, 1999.
  12. Web site: Rabinowitz . Chloe . David Lang Soundscape SPECTERS OF NOON, Featured in The Menil Collection's New Exhibition . BroadwayWorld.com . en.
  13. Sigler, Britt. "The Mile-Long Opera Winds Its Way Up the High Line", "All Arts", August 15, 2018.
  14. Web site: Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming Past Awardees.
  15. Web site: Charles Amirkhanian, Donald Nally and The Crossing, The International Alliance for Women in Music to Receive Champion of New Music Awards . 9 March 2017 . 19 March 2017.
  16. Web site: Donald Nally Joins Bienen School Faculty as Director of Choral Organizations: Bienen School of Music - Northwestern University . Music.northwestern.edu . 2012-04-17 . 2013-07-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130728040839/http://www.music.northwestern.edu/about/news/2012/donald-nally-joins-bienen-school-faculty-as-director-of-choral-organizations.html . 2013-07-28 . dead .
  17. Web site: Spring Tributes to Retiring Music Faculty Harris, Hemke and Kujala: Northwestern University News . Northwestern.edu . 2012-05-14 . 2013-07-09.
  18. Web site: Bienen Contemporary/Early Chamber Choir: Bienen School of Music - Northwestern University . Music.northwestern.edu . 2013-07-09.
  19. Web site: BCE's premiere of 'Light Readings' receives glowing reviews . Northwestern Bienen School of Music . en.
  20. Web site: Ear Taxi Festival: Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble and Contemporary Music Ensemble . Northwestern Bienen School of Music . en.
  21. Web site: Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and University Chorale | Pick-Staiger Concert Hall . Pickstaiger.org . 2013-06-08 . 2013-07-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193553/http://www.pickstaiger.org/event/northwestern-university-symphony-orchestra-and-university-chorale . 2014-01-02 .
  22. Web site: Cat. Zakrzewski . Bienen graduate student says he may fail class after 'racially insensitive' incident . The Daily Northwestern . 23 May 2013. 2013-07-09.
  23. Web site: 2013-05-18 . Student skips music class in protest of "offensive" material . WGN-TV . 2013-07-09.
  24. Web site: Honorary Degree Recipients . Rider University . en . 22 July 2020.
  25. Web site: Charles Amirkhanian, Donald Nally and The Crossing, The International Alliance for Women in Music to Receive Champion of New Music Awards. 9 March 2017 .
  26. Web site: 2017 Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/J_aTPOcCjiY . 2021-12-21 . live. .
  27. Web site: Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal Past Awardees.
  28. Web site: Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence Past Awardees.
  29. Web site: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree . Paraclete Press Sacred Music.

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