SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. D. Jason Bishop is Director of Choral Activities at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College, in Erie, PA, where he also serves as conductor of the Erie Philharmonic Chorus. In 2008, Dr. Bishop changed the choral landscape of northwestern Pennsylvania by founding the first comprehensive youth chorus program in the region, the Young People’s Chorus of Erie, of which he serves as Artistic Director. The Young People’s Chorus of Erie shares a mission with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, providing opportunities for children ages 7 to 18 to participate in a comprehensive choral program that celebrates diversity, multiculturalism, and equal opportunities for children from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Dr. Bishop earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied with Dr. Dennis Shrock, and the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Boston University, where he studied with Dr. Ann Howard Jones. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Classical Languages from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, where he studied conducting with the late Tony Lee Garner, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with distinction, was voted into the Rhodes College Hall of Fame, and received the Rhodes College Kinney Leadership Award for outstanding service to his community. In 1998, at just 21 years old, he was asked to serve as the first-ever student conductor of the Rhodes College Singers, leading the group on a two-week performance tour of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms throughout the southeastern United States.
Before joining the faculty of Penn State Erie in 2007, Dr. Bishop served as Director of Choral Activities at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA from 1999-2003; as Assistant to the President of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA from 2001-2003; as Music Director of the Broadmoor Chamber Singers in Natick, MA from 2001-2003; as Director of Music and Founder & Artistic Director of the Concert Series at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Norman, OK from 2004-2007; and as Instructor of Choral Conducting and Conductor of the University Chorale & Opera Chorus at the University of Oklahoma from 2005-2006.
Praised for both his passion and efficiency on the podium, Dr. Bishop is in frequent demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, with several performances of major choral-orchestral repertoire to his credit. He has adjudicated numerous choral festivals, including the Oklahoma Arts Institute and the West Tennessee High School Festival, and served as guest conductor of the 8th Annual NYC Honor Chorus Festival, sponsored by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Dr. Bishop has also traveled extensively as a guest conductor with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City to Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, England, and Wales. Among his other guest conducting engagements are the Central Dauphin District Honor Chorus in Harrisburg, and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Women’s Honor Chorus at Ithaca College. In May 2010, Dr. Bishop made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut with a performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass.
Dr. Bishop has also had the opportunity to sing as both baritone and countertenor in several chamber recitals and a number of professional choral ensembles, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale of New Mexico, a professional vocal ensemble widely acclaimed for its exceptional choral performances. He has previously held the position of Northwest Region Chair on the Board of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA-PA), as well as Editor of the Pennsylvania state choral journal Polyphony. In July 2011, he will become President-Elect of ACDA-PA, taking office as President in July 2013. For his contributions to choral music in Pennsylvania, Dr. Bishop received ACDA-PA’s Outstanding Young Conductor Award in August 2009.