Craig D. Jessop (born 1949) is an American academic, musician and singer best known for his tenure as the music director of the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir (Choir) from 1999 to 2008.
Biography
A native of
Millville, Utah
Millville is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,222 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 2,300 in 2022. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Millville ...
, Jessop has been a lifelong member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a student of
Robert Shaw and received a
B.A. from
Utah State University (USU),
M.A. from
Brigham Young University (BYU), and
D.M.A.
The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in su ...
from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
He has been the director of the National High School Choir Festival since its founding in 2005. The event, held at
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, auditions schools from around the country to inspire and enable young singers in learning great works of music and performing with renowned musicians from around the world.
He has also spent seven years as a baritone with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and performed in the choirs of
Helmuth Rilling and
John Rutter.
Prior to his association with the Choir, Jessop had a distinguished career as a
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in the
United States Air Force, where he was director of the Singing Sergeants (1979–1987), commander/conductor, Band of the United States Air Forces in Europe (1987–91), conductor for Ramstein Community Choir/Rheinpfalz Community Choir (1988–91) and commander/conductor of the Air Combat Command Heartland of American Band (1991–95).
He began his career in education as director of choral activities at Granite High School in Salt Lake City.
Jessop was named Associate Director of the Choir in 1995 and became its director in 1999. Under Jessop's direction the Choir won many awards, including the Special Recognition Award from the International Radio and Television Society Foundation and a
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...
presented by
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. He served in that position until suddenly resigning on March 4, 2008. At an evening rehearsal he appeared long enough to read a statement, to the surprise and confusion of choir members and community members. Jessop explained he was "at a major crossroads of life" and would return to "the career that I originally began
nmy musical journey" and spend "more time together with our children and grandsons."
Jessop and his wife have four children and eleven grandchildren.
Later activities
Jessop became head of the Music Department at USU, in
Logan, Utah
Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...
, on May 5, 2008. He also began directing the American Festival Chorus, a new 270-member choir headquartered at USU. The choir performed with the USU Symphony Orchestra on November 11, 2008 in a Veteran's Day tribute. On November 15, 2008, the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra debuted with a performance of Mozart's ''Requiem''. On February 28, 2009, Jessop was invited to guest conduct a special concert with
BYU's choirs. On April 2, 2010, USU announced that Jessop would become the first
dean of the
Caine College of the Arts (CCA), created out of a split of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences into two colleges: CCA and the
College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Since 2011, Jessop has served as Artistic Director for National Memorial Day Choral Festival held annually in the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in
Washington, DC, sponsored by Music Celebrations International and the
American Veterans Center
The American Veterans Center is a non-profit educational organization and one of two programs of the American Studies Center. The mission of the American Veterans Center is "to preserve and promote the legacy of America’s servicemen and women of ...
. An uplifting and inspired program of patriotic music is selected each year by Jessop and is performed by choirs from around the United States to honor veterans past and present.
On December 22, 2012, Jessop conducted Joy to the World Christmas Musical Celebration Hosted by LDS Church in central Oklahoma. The 60-member orchestra and 300 choir members are volunteers from many faiths in central Oklahoma, with the core membership drawn from 44 Latter-day Saint congregations.
From November 19–21, 2014, Jessop directed 440 of Nebraska's best choir members in the Nebraska Music Educators Association All-State Choir at the annual NMEA conference.
On November 16, 2015, Jessop conducted a concert called Through The Eyes Of A Child in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
with the
Hilliard Darby Symphonic Choir, Una Voce and the Columbus Children's Choir. The pieces included
Count Your Blessings from
White Christmas
White Christmas most commonly refers to:
* White Christmas (weather), snowfall or snow-covered ground on Christmas Day
* "White Christmas" (song), a 1942 song written by Irving Berlin
White Christmas may also refer to:
Film, television, and the ...
,
Mass of the Children
''Mass of the Children'' is a major work of English composer John Rutter. It is a non-liturgical Missa brevis, with the traditional Latin and Greek Mass (music), Mass text interwoven with several English poems.
''Mass of the Children'' consists ...
by John Rutter and
When You Wish upon a Star from
Disney's
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
Pinocchio.
On April 10, 2017, Jessop conducted at the WorldStrides Festival of Gold Honor Choir and Honor Orchestra in
San Francisco. He conducted children in middle and high school at this prestigious event. This event took place at the
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall is the concert hall component of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, California. The 2,743-seat hall was completed in 1980 at a cost of US$28 million to give the San Francisco ...
and the group performed "Proud To Serve".
In August 2018, after nearly 11 years as dean, Jessop announced his resignation from the CCA, effective June 1, 2019. He was replaced by Rachel Nardo. The announcement stated his plans to return in the fall of 2020 as a professor after a sabbatical.
References
External links
*
*http://americanfestivalchorus.org/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20151021220732/http://music.usu.edu/facStaff/bio.cfm?facID=50
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessop, Craig
American choral conductors
American male conductors (music)
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Brigham Young University alumni
Living people
Tabernacle Choir music directors
Musicians from Utah
People from Logan, Utah
Utah State University alumni
Utah State University faculty
Latter Day Saints from California
People from Millville, Utah
21st-century American conductors (music)
1949 births