Brian Galante

Associate Dean, School of Music, Theatre & Dance; Director of Choral Studies; Professor of Music

he/him/his

Phone: 253-535-7603

Email: galante@plu.edu

Office Location: Mary Baker Russell Music Center - 206 (Music Office)

Office Hours: (On Campus) Mon - Fri: By Appointment

Website: https://galantemusic.com/

  • Professional
  • Biography
  • Video

Additional Titles/Roles

  • Director of Choral Studies
  • Conductor, Choir of the West

Education

  • D.M.A., Choral Conducting, University of North Texas, 2008
  • M.M., Choral Conducting, Louisiana State University, 1999
  • B.M.E., Choral Music Education, Louisiana State University, 1997

Areas of Emphasis or Expertise

  • Conducting
  • Choral Music Education
  • Voice Science and Pedagogy

Responsibilities

Conductor of Choir of the West.

Selected Publications

Selected Presentations

  • American Choral Directors Association NW Division Conference, Strength, Balance, Core - The Benefits of Pilates for the Choral Conductor, Seattle (March 2012)
  • American Choral Directors Association National Conference, Tension in the Balance? - Common Voice Science Issues for the Choral Conductor, Oklahoma City (March 2009)
  • Becoming the Choral Poet VI, UNT Summer Choral Workshop, The Acoustical, Perceptual and Physiological Effects of Vocal Vibrato, Denton, TX (July 2006)
  • Texas Music Educators Association Annual Clinic and Conference, Tension in the Balance? - Common Sense Voice Science Issues for the Choral Conductor, San Antonio, TX (February 2007)

Selected Articles

  • Galante, Brian. "Vibrato and Choral Acoustics: Common Voice Science Issues for the Choral Conductor." Choral Journal Vol. 51, February 2011: 67-75.

Accolades

  • Leadership and Service Award, Washington ACDA
  • Recipient of multiple ASCAP Plus awards

Professional Memberships/Organizations

  • American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
  • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
  • College Music Society (CMS)
  • National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO)
  • The National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
  • Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA)
  • Washington ACDA

Biography

Dr. Galante is Associate Dean of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and Director of Choral Studies at PLU. In Fall 2022, he became the seventh conductor of the Choir of the West. During his time at PLU, Dr. Galante also conducted Chorale, University Singers (SA) and Knights Chorus (TB), and taught undergraduate courses in Vocal Pedagogy for the Choral Music Educator, Choral Methods and Choral Literature.

Dr. Galante continues to find success and acclaim as a composer and arranger. His compositions are published by GalanteMusic, Walton, Colla Voce Music, and Pavane Publishing; have been performed by professional, collegiate, and advanced high school choirs throughout the United States and Europe; and recorded for commercial release by Delos, Centaur Records, MSR Classic, and PLU Media. He is the recipient of multiple ASCAP Plus awards, and a regular composer-in-residence for the Taylor Festival Choir (Charleston, SC).

Galante received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting, with a related field in Voice Science and Pedagogy, from the University of North Texas. He holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Louisiana State University. Previous choral appointments include Visiting Associate Director of Choral Studies at Louisiana State University; Conductor of the UNT Men’s Chorus and Conducting Associate of the UNT A Cappella Choir; Director of Choral Music/Coordinator of K-12 Music at Highland Park High School, Dallas, Texas; Director of Choirs at Episcopal High School and Director of Music at St. Louis King of France Catholic Church, both in Baton Rouge.

Choirs under Galante’s direction have offered invitational performances in Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York; the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; Notre Dame Cathedral and Sacre Coeur, Paris; the 2010 Washington Music Educators Association conference; the 2011 Northwest MENC Conference; and the 2012 Northwest Division ACDA Conference.

Frequently in demand as a clinician and adjudicator, Galante has conducted honor choirs at all levels. He served as President of Louisiana ACDA from 2001-2003, and remains an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Washington ACDA, and the Washington Music Educators Association. He served as Conference Chair of the 2020 Northwest ACDA Region Conference, Program Chair of the 2010 and 2018 Conferences, on the National Technology Committee (2007-2001), and Associate Conference Chair of the 2013 National ACDA Conference. He is Past-President of the Northwestern ACDA Region.

ACDA Interest Session Preview

Performance of Mendelssohn's "Jauchzet dem Herrn" at the NW ACDA Conference

Performance of Exsultate