Eric Barnum
A conductor and composer, Eric William Barnum continues to passionately seek new ground in the choral field. Working with choirs of all kinds, his collaborative leitmotif endeavors to provide intensely meaningful experiences for singers and audiences.
Barnum is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and previously, the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He holds a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Boers. He has an advanced degree in conducting from Minnesota State University (Mankato, MN), primary study with Dr. David Dickau, as well as BAs in Composition and Vocal Performance from Bemidji State University (Bemidji, MN). He has appeared as a conductor across the United States and the International stage, and has worked with some of the most innovative minds in the choral field.
His compositional voice and vision continue to gain popularity around the globe with performances from choirs Internationally. He composes for choral ensembles of all types, from professional to youth choirs, and has received numerous awards and prestigious grants such as a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship and a McKnight Foundation Grant. He has also held residencies with such ensembles as Choral Arts (Seattle, WA), Cantus (Trondheim, Norway), The Rose Ensemble (St. Paul, MN), Kantorei (Denver, CO), Magnum Chorum (Minneapolis, MN), Coro Vocal Artists (Tucson, AZ), as well as with many high schools and collegiate choirs.
Richard Robbins
Richard Robbins is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where directs the University Singers, Chamber Singers, and teaches an array of choral conducting and music courses. Prior to this, he served as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he directed the A Cappella and Chamber Choirs, and taught courses in choral music education, counterpoint, ear training, and music technology. Dr. Robbins travels extensively as a clinician, adjudicator, and director for choral festivals and honor choirs across the country, with recent engagements in Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. His editions of Italian sacred music of the early Baroque are published internationally, and he has been invited to present on a range of topics for music education and conducting organizations, including the American Choral Directors Association, and internationally at Warsaw, Poland’s Chopin Conservatory of Music.
A conductor with extensive experience in preparing choral-orchestral repertoire, Dr. Robbins also serves as Chorus Master of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Dr. Robbins’ work with the DSSO Chorus comes after leading choirs for the Houston Ballet and preparing choirs for over 50 performances with the Houston Symphony. He has prepared choruses for several major conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Ermanno Florio, Hans Graf, Joan Glover, Bernard Labadie, Klaus Peter Flor, Michael Krajewski, Stephen Cleobury, Robert Franz, and Dirk Meyer.
Choral groups under Dr. Robbins’ direction have earned awards at numerous festivals, and have collaborated with a wide range of classical and pop artists. He taught choral music in the Texas public schools for several years (most recently at Houston’s famed High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), and previously directed the Concert Women’s and University Men’s Choruses at the University of Houston. He is a member of ACDA (previously serving on the Executive Board of the Southwestern Division), Chorus America, NCCO, and NafME, and also serves as a festival conductor for the American Federation Pueri Cantores. Dr. Robbins holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Houston.