Dale Warland (born April 14, 1932,

Fort Dodge, Iowa Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Ce ...

) is an American conductor, composer, founder of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated

Dale Warland Singers The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) was a 40-voice professional chorus based in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 1972 by Dale Warland and disbanded in 2004. They performed a wide variety of choral repertoire but specialized in 20th-century music and c ...

, scholar, teacher, choral consultant, and renowned champion of contemporary choral composers.Nilanjana Kundu and Mark Palkovic, University of Cincinnati Archives & Rare Book Library, 2004
"The Dale Warland Singers"
. Accessed 25 January 2008. Warland is one of only two choral conductors (along with

Robert Shaw (conductor) Robert Lawson Shaw (30 April 191625 January 1999) was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing publ ...

) inducted into the

American Classical Music Hall of Fame The American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a non-profit organization celebrating past and present individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to classical music—"people who have contributed to American musi ...

Professional biography (in brief)

While enrolled at

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

, Warland began rehearsing and performing with choirs. After graduating, he spent two years in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

where he started a choir of servicemen. The choir was invited to perform for then-Vice President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. After the Air Force, he completed his Master of Arts degree in theory and composition at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1960 and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting at the University of Southern California in 1965. A brief tenure as director of choral music at

Humboldt State College California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universit ...

followed, leading to an appointment as professor of music and director of choral activities at

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

, where he remained until 1985. In 1972, he formed the

. The group quickly gained an international reputation for their flawless performance of choral works by contemporary composers, and, with Warland leading the way, the DWS organization would become renowned for its support of living composers. Under his direction, the DWS made influential and award-winning recordings, toured internationally, were guest-conducted by choral greats, and won several prestigious awards. The group disbanded in 2004 after 32 years. Warland continues to function as a choral composer, editor of choral publications, consultant to publishing companies, scholar, teacher, and guest conductor.

The Dale Warland Singers

In 1972, while on the faculty at

, Warland was asked by the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

(in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

) to form a choir for a special project. This group of 40 singers became the

. Under his direction, the Singers toured Europe and were awarded the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Margaret Hillis Achievement Award, ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming (1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999), the ASCAP Victor Herbert Award (2003), the Distinguished Master Artists Award (University of South Florida (2004)), the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision (2003), and many others. Their 2003 CD, "Walden Pond" was nominated for a

Award for Best Choral Performance. Over the years, the Singers became known for exceptional blend, intonation, attacks, and uniformity of sound.

After the Dale Warland Singers

Warland disbanded the DWS in 2004, in part to pursue more teaching and composing opportunities. The Dale Warland Singers Choral Score Library was purchased by University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (a/k/a Cincinnati Conservatory, a/k/a CCM), which serves as custodian of those scores. The papers of the DWS organization also are housed and managed by CCM. Warland continues working with young students and directors through the Choirs of Note. In 2007 he was commissioned by the Utah Chamber Artists to write an a capella piece for their 2008 European summer tour. ''Benedicamus Domino'' for SSATBB, was premiered at the Utah Chamber Artists' Winter Concert on March 3, 2008. With Warland in attendance, the Utah Chamber Artists performed the piece at

St Bride's Church St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 in Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire d ...

in London and the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington on June 17, 2008, and at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on June 18, 2008. Warland has guest conducted several prominent choral ensembles since his retirement from the DWS, including Opus 7 and the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble. Since 2010, Warland has conducted the Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorale, part of the Minnesota Beethoven Festival in

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...

. This ensemble, which has ranged in size from 42 to 44 voices, has included many of the former members of the

, and has presented two concerts on the July schedule of the festival each year. The 2012 Minnesota Beethoven Festival performances featured the premiere of Warland's arrangement of "Tenting On The Old Campground," written for the Festival Chorale.

Compositions and arrangements

Warland has composed and arranged many works for choir over the decades. Most are published in his choral series (see below), but others are not "housed" in a series.

Choral series

The Dale Warland Choral Series is a collection of choral scores selected for publication by Warland. Over the years, the series has been published by several companies (Earthsongs, G. Schirmer), Walton, Plymouth, and Colla Voce, these works may be thought of as separate series all with the same name (the series with G. Schirmer is actually titled "The Dale Warland Schirmer Choral Series"). Works included in the series are listed here alphabetically by title; since choral scores continue to be published, this list will become outdated with each batch of new releases. *Aprile/April (Carol Barnett) - pub. Colla Voce *Ave Maria (Cary Boyce) - pub. G. Schirmer *Beautiful River (arr. William Hawley) — pub. Colla Voce *By And By (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *Calm on the Listening Ear of Night ( Kenneth Jennings) - pub. Walton *Cançao de Embalar (

Janika Vandervelde Janika Vandervelde (born 1955) is an American composer, pianist, and music educator. Her work, notable for its feminist and ecological themes, has won numerous awards. Known for her music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles and the stage, s ...

) - pub. Earthsongs *Catalonian Carol (arr. Dale Warland) — pub. Colla Voce *Cedit, Hyems (Abbie B. Betinis) - pub. G. Schirmer *Cindy (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *December Stillness (Paul Fetler) - pub. Walton *Deep River (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *El Rorro (arr. Jeffery Van) — pub. Colla Voce *The Friendly Beasts (arr. Jeffrey Van) - pub. Colla Voce *Hard Times Come Again No More (arr. Mark Keller) — pub. Colla Voce *Hark The Herald Angels Sing (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Colla Voce *Hodie (Carol Barnett) - pub. Walton *Huron Carol (arr. Dale Warland) - pub. Colla Voce *I would live in your love (Nathan Jones) - pub. G. Schirmer *McKay (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Earthsongs *Miserere ( Rudi Tas) - pub. G. Schirmer *My Soul's Been Anchored In The Lord (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Colla Voce *Ninety-Third Psalm (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Earthsongs *Not One Sparrow Is Forgotten (William Hawley) - pub. Colla Voce *O Little Town Of Bethlehem (arr. Dale Warland) - pub. Colla Voce *O Viridissima Virga (

) - pub. Earthsongs ''***N.B. Not technically part of the DWCS, this was commissioned and premiered by the Dale Warland Singers, and is published by Earthsongs'' *Oh, Shenandoah (arr. Alf Houkom) — pub. Colla Voce *Prayer of the Middle Ages (Howard Hanson) - pub. Earthsongs *Pretty Saro (arr. Mark Keller) - pub. Colla Voce *Red River Valley (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *River Snow (Zhang Ying) - pub. Walton *Requiescat (Eric William Barnum) - pub. G. Schirmer *Rockin' Jerusalem (arr. Robert L. Morris) - pub. Walton *Shalom Chaverim (Kenneth Hodgson) — pub. Colla Voce *She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain (arr. Emma Lou Diemer) - pub. Colla Voce *Simple Gifts (arr. Dale Warland) - pub. G. Schirmer *Snow (The King's Trumpeter) (John Muelheisen) - pub. Colla Voce *So Gracious Is The Time (William Beckstrand) - pub. Colla Voce *So Thin a Veil (Dale Warland) - pub. G. Schirmer *A Somerset Carol (arr. Dale Warland) - pub. G. Schirmer *A Spotless Rose (Ralph R. Prime) - pub. Colla Voce *Steal Away (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (arr. Carol Barnett) — pub. Colla Voce *There Will Be Rest (Dale Warland) - pub. G. Schirmer *Two Motets (William Hawley) - pub. Walton *Water Night (

Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. ...

) - pub. Walton *Webster (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Earthsongs *Wexford Carol (arr. Dale Warland) - pub. G. Schirmer *Without Words (Huang Ruo) - pub. G. Schirmer *Wonder Where (arr. Carol Barnett) - pub. Colla Voce

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warland, Dale 1932 births American choral conductors American male conductors (music) Living people St. Olaf College alumni University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni USC Thornton School of Music alumni Singers from Iowa 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians