Thea Kano (born August 1, 1965) is an American conductor. She is the Founder of the New York City Master Chorale, and was its Artistic Director until the end of the 2018–2019 season. She served as the Associate Music Director of the

Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. (GMCW), is one of the oldest LGBT choral organizations in the United States. With more than 300 singing members, it is also one of the largest. The chorus's stated mission is that it "delights audiences ...

from 2004 to 2014, and has been appointed its Artistic Director, effective September 2, 2014. She served as the Associate Conductor of the Washington Chorus and Artistic Director of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus from 2004–2009, both of which she joined in 2004 after earning her doctorate in choral conducting from

UCLA 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 St ...

, writing her dissertation on

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He became a chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School fr ...

’s '' Requiem'' under Professor Donald Neuen. She also studied privately with

Paul Salamunovich Paul Salamunovich KCSG (June 7, 1927April 3, 2014) was a Grammy-nominated, American conductor and educator. He was the Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1991 to 2001 and its Music Director Emeritus from 2001 until his death in ...

. A native of

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, Dr. Kano lives in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and New York. During the summer, Kano teaches at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in Washington.

References

1965 births Living people Women conductors (music) American choral conductors UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni Classical musicians from California 21st-century American conductors (music) {{US-conductor-stub