Donald Neuen is an American choral conductor, composer, arranger, editor, and educator who was formerly the Distinguished Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Activities at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

.UCLA Music Department, ''Donald Neuen'', He conducted the UCLA Chorale while teaching courses in conducting and directing one of the most respected graduate programs in choral conducting in the United States. He was 80 years old when he retired.

Early life and education

Raised in what Neuen described as "the small, enormously musical, Swiss-Mennonite community of Berne, Indiana,", Neuen studied under and was heavily influenced by Robert Shaw (the former Music Director of the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date b ...

, founder of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus in Georgia, and famous for his Robert Shaw Chorale).

Career

Neuen served as the Assistant Conductor and the Director of Choral Activities for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Neuen led the Los Angeles-based Angeles Chorale as Artistic Director for 13 years, from 1996 to 2009. He was the former director of the Cathedral Choir at the

Crystal Cathedral Christ Cathedral (Latin: ''Cathedralis Christi''; Spanish: ''Catedral de Cristo''; Vietnamese: ''Nhà Thờ Chính Tòa Chúa Kitô''), formerly and informally known as the Crystal Cathedral, is an American church building of the Diocese of Or ...

in Garden Grove, California. Before his tenure at UCLA, Neuen was a member of the faculty of the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

in Rochester, New York. Neuen has also served on the faculties of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, Ball State University, and

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

. His students have gone on to lead major choruses and orchestras throughout the world. He has released videos in the Choral Excellence Series as well as a collegiate choral conducting textbook, Choral Concepts. Neuen is a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity.Delta Omicron

References

* http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/a-grand-finale-for-conductor-extraordinaire-donald-neuen * http://www.performingartslive.com/Events/Royce-Hall-at-UCLA-The-Faith-of-Beethoven-672014 UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty Eastman School of Music faculty University of Tennessee faculty Ball State University faculty American choral conductors American male conductors (music) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Berne, Indiana Choral composers Classical musicians from California 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians {{US-conductor-stub