Thursday, April 3, 2008

Conductor Vance George
Inducted As National Patron of Delta Omicron

Vance George, Conductor Emeritus of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron at Washington & Jefferson College on Thursday, April 3, 2008. The ceremony was conducted by Omicron Province President Carol Woody, the official representative of the Board of Directors. Epsilon Zeta Chapter Adviser Susan Medley and members of the chapter assisted Mrs. Woody with the induction.

Vance George is internationally recognized as one of America’s leading choral conductors. He has conducted throughout the United States, as well as throughout Europe, Australia, and Asia. Most recently he performed in Salzburg, Sydney, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis. He has received acclaim for his unique knowledge of musical styles, languages, mastery of vocal colors, and synthesis of the choral-orchestral tradition.

Maestro George’s work embodies the legacy of the great maestros that he has known as protege and colleague, especially Kurt Masur, John Nelson, Helmut Rilling, Robert Shaw, Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis, Robert Page, Otto Werner-Mueller, and Mary Oyer. During his twenty-three years with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, the group was hailed as one of the finest in the world. On their behalf, he accepted two Grammy Awards for Best Performance of a Choral Work: Orff’s Carmina burana in 1993 and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in 1995. Other Grammy-winning recordings featuring the chorus include Stravinsky’s Perséphone and Mahler’s Symphony III. TV and film credits include an Emmy for Sweeney Todd in 2002 and soundtracks for Amadeus, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Godfather III.

Highly regarded as a teacher of conducting, Vance George has presented lectures, workshops, and clinics at the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, The San Francisco Conservatory, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Kent State University, and the University of California at Berkley. His conducting concepts appear in The Cambridge Companion to Conducting (Cambridge Press, 2003), My Life In Choral Music So Far (Choral America Journal, June of 2006), and Choral Colors (American Choral Director’s Journal, October of 2006 and October of 2007).

A graduate of Goshen College and Indiana University, Vance George was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts by Kent State University and a Lifetime Achievement Award by Chorus America.

While visiting Washington & Jefferson College, Maestro George worked with the Washington & Jefferson Choir and the Camerata Singers. There he shared his expertise and dynamic rehearsal techniques with the singers and the college community. Following the National Patron Induction Ceremony, Epsilon Zeta Chapter hosted a luncheon in honor of Maestro George.