Fred A. Stoltzfus

Professor and Chair of Choral Music

B.A., Goshen College; St.M.P., Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Detmold, Germany; D.M.A., University of Iowa

Fred Stoltzfus is both a scholar and a conductor of choral music. He has made several recordings, including Buxtehude’s Cantatas for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, and written extensively about conducting and choral music. He has conducted several world premieres, including Symphonia Sacra in Tempore Passionis and Echoes of Loneliness, both by Bengt Hambraeus. Professor Stoltzfus was awarded the Noah Greenberg award from the American Musicological Society in recognition for his “distinguished contribution to the study and performance of Early Music.” In addition, he was part of a major grant from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, campus to help students learn conducting skills via computer. The grant, titled “The Intelligent Virtual Ensemble: Creating an Infrastructure for Natural Interactive Skills Acquisition,” includes researchers from the School of Music, computer science and the Beckman Institute.

When I teach conducting, I emphasize formal musical understanding and efficient rehearsal technique as well as subtle skills: physical gesture, voice pedagogy and stylistic nuance. That usually involves a balance between work accomplished in small conducting master classes and individual coaching. I recognize the unique paths that musicians must take to realize their potential as conductors. I spare no effort to be a generative force in the process, and I find the scope of teaching, research, engagement with student, and performance my own research, student work, and to be rich and fulfilling. Finally, I am captivated by the emotional, intellectual and spiritual quality of choral music. That in essence means I want to work with the genres of choral repertoire that embrace the highest musical, textual and formal values, and I find the deepest of satisfaction from working with students who share that love.