Dr. Stan Engebretson conducting Handel's Messiah.
The Choralis Foundation, a Virginia-based choral arts organization, is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2019 J. Reilly Lewis Award for Outstanding Contributions to Choral Music is Dr. Stanley Engebretson.
Choralis’ 2018-19 performance season is celebrating "Making a Difference” in our community, our country, and the world. In addition to continuing to bring the joy and beauty of music into people’s lives, Choralis this season has used its performances to support charitable organizations that are a force for good. Likewise, Choralis is honoring people who make a difference. Choralis developed the J. Reilly Lewis Award for Outstanding Contributions to Choral Music in memory of the late Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, a beloved musician, mentor and supporter of choral music. Choralis honors this year’s award recipient, Dr. Stanley Engebretson, for his body of work as an educator, conductor, and Washington-area colleague. Choralis is grateful for the difference Dr. Engebretson makes in our community.
Stan Engebretson moved to Washington, DC in 1990 to become the Director of Choral Studies at George Mason University. Previous positions included the University of Minnesota where he was the Associate Conductor of the MN Chorale. Earlier, he was at the University of Texas Permian in Midland-Odessa where he conducted the Midland-Odessa Symphony Chorale and was Music Director at First Presbyterian Church. In 1993 he became the Artistic Director of the Masterworks Chorale which led to the founding in 2003 of the National Philharmonic Chorale, now at the Music Center at Strathmore. In 1991, he also became the Director of Music at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, known as the Lincoln Church, in Washington, DC.
Engebretson holds bachelor’s and master’s performance degrees in Voice and Piano from the University of North Dakota and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting and Performance Practice from Stanford University. He received several research awards and grants for advanced study in Aspen, San Francisco, New York, and Europe with internationally acclaimed conductors including Gregg Smith, Margaret Hillis, Roger Wagner, Eric Ericson, and Robert Shaw. As a professional chorister he performed in the Aspen Music Institute for 6 years and in the Carmel Bach Festival Chamber Choir for 9 years. He was a lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution for decades, leading tours to Carmel, Aspen, and for 19 years, the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, SC. Engebretson’s wide appearances as a conductor and clinician include workshops and concerts throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Cuba, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Iceland (where he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar), and South Korea. This year, he celebrated 30 years of working with his close friend and German colleague Volker Hempfling with a new book published by Carus entitled “Hallelujah!” - a collection of gospels and spirituals specifically for European choirs.
Over the past three decades in Washington, Engebretson has conducted diverse groups from chamber choirs to large symphony choruses performing orchestral masterworks ranging in size from Handel’s Messiah to Berlioz’ mammoth Requiem. He has worked with many composers to premiere new works while discovering historic masterpieces that broaden the repertoire. He is an eclectic musician who enjoys many styles of music - sacred or secular, classical or jazz - all with the same passion and interest. He loves teaching and maintains collegial relationships with his former conducting students, including Choralis’ own Artistic Director Maestra Kuhrmann, and celebrates their successes as they have gone on to develop their own distinguished careers in the academic and professional worlds.
Those who have had the honor of studying or working with Stan know he is one of the most genuinely humble and talented conductors in the area and is most deserving of this recognition. Choralis looks forward to celebrating his ongoing career and Making a Difference at a Gala Dinner and Auction on 4 May, 2019.
Information and tickets for the Gala and Choralis’ performances are available at www.choralis.org. The Choralis Foundation was established by Artistic Director Gretchen Kuhrmann in 2000 to nurture a passion for choral music through excellent choral performances, professional development opportunities for young soloists and conductors, education and training for young choristers, and community outreach events.