dominickdiorio
conductor composer
two letter D inside a blue circle

bio

Complete Bio (830 words)

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Dominick DiOrio is an imaginative, enthusiastic, and energetic conductor and composer who has won widespread acclaim for his contributions to American music. Whether leading an ensemble or crafting a new score, he brings equal passion and skill to his work in vocal and instrumental music, and he has been recognized with The American Prizes in both Choral Composition (2014) and Choral Performance (2019, with NOTUS).

In July 2020, he became the 14th Artistic Director & Conductor of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, one of the most historic choral organizations in the US, now celebrating its 150th season. As part of those duties, he has had the honor of preparing the Mendelssohn Chorus to sing "The Glorious Sound of Christmas" concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductors Bramwell Tovey in 2021 and William Eddins in 2022 & 2023. Mendelssohn Chorus also sang a "near ideal" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) performance of Carmina Burana in March 2024 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Fabio Luisi.

DiOrio believes that singing together brings people joy. He has conducted ensembles around the world, from the Houston Chamber Choir and Choral Arts Initiative in the USA to Allmänna Sången and Ars Veritas abroad. A strong advocate for new music, he has premiered over 50 original works, and he has collaborated with many of today’s leading composers including Paquito D’Rivera, Melissa Dunphy, Marques L.A. Garrett, Texu Kim, Han Lash, Caroline Shaw, and Christopher Theofanidis. Committed to diversity and inclusion in artistic programming, DiOrio proudly programs works that reflect the gender, ethnic, and racial diversity of our world, and he works to amplify the voices of composers from underrepresented populations.

His love for contemporary repertoire spans the gamut of path-breaking works from the 20th and 21st centuries, including James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words, Steve Reich’s The Desert Music, Alfred Schnittke's Requiem, David Lang’s the little match girl passion, Sarah Kirkland Snider's Mass for the Endangered, Sofia Gubaidulina’s Sonnengesang, Joel Thompson's Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, and Krzysztof Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion, which he had the honor of preparing for the composer in November of 2017. Equally at home with music of earlier eras, he has also conducted choral-orchestral performances of Bach's Magnificat, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Haydn's Mass in Time of War, W. A. Mozart’s "Great" C Minor Mass”, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, among others.

As a composer, DiOrio has been hailed for a keenly intelligent, evocative style, which shows “a tour de force of inventive thinking and unique colour” (Gramophone). His music has been praised for its “depth of vision, mastery of compositional technique, and unique style” (The American Prize). His over 50 published works have appeared at major venues around the world including the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall — as well as in Austria, Canada, China, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and the UK. He composes for musicians of all ages and experiences, and his recent commissioning partners include the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, the Worcester Youth Orchestras, the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble & Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and many institutions of higher education, including Macalester, Oberlin, Princeton, Smith, and the Universities of Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois.

DiOrio believes in the power of education to change lives and impact our communities. Since 2012, he has been a member of the choral conducting faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he serves as Professor of Music and leads the new music vocal ensemble NOTUS. He has elevated NOTUS to acclaim through commissions, recording projects, and invited performances at regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). NOTUS was also one of only 24 choirs in the world selected by competitive audition to perform at the 12th World Symposium on Choral Music in Auckland, New Zealand, before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. NOTUS' critically acclaimed debut album, Of Radiance & Refraction, featured the world premiere recordings of five commissioned works. Released in December 2022 with Navona Records, NOTUS' second album, What Is Ours: Music for an America in Progress features English horn artist Roger Roe and eclectic new music composed by Reena Esmail, Moira Smiley, Carlos Cordero, Joel Thompson, Andrea Ramsey, John William Griffith II, Leigha Amick, and DiOrio.

DiOrio is deeply committed to strengthening the profession by empowering others, and he recently completed a four-year term as president & president-elect of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (2018-2022). For his leadership during the pandemic, he was honored with NCCO's inaugural Distinguished Service Award, presented at the NCCO10 National Conference at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

DiOrio has also previously served as treasurer of NCCO (2014-2017), as chair of ACDA’s Composition Initiatives Standing Committee (2016-2020), and as a member of the board of directors for Chorus America (2015-2018). He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the Yale School of Music, as well as the MMA and MM in conducting from Yale and the BM in composition summa cum laude from Ithaca College. He proudly credits his mentors Janet Galván, Simon Carrington, and Marguerite Brooks for serving as model leaders and for making him the person that he is today.

dominickdiorio.com

Abridged Bio (330 words)

dominick smiling with arms crossed

Dominick DiOrio is a conductor and composer who has won widespread acclaim for his contributions to American music. He has been recognized with The American Prizes in both Choral Composition (2014) and Choral Performance (2019, with NOTUS). In July 2020, he became the 14th Artistic Director & Conductor of the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, now in its 150th season, where he has had the honor of preparing the singers for performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

DiOrio has conducted ensembles around the world, from the Houston Chamber Choir and Choral Arts Initiative in the USA to Allmänna Sången and Ars Veritas abroad. A strong advocate for new music, he has he has premiered over 50 original works, and he has collaborated with Paquito D’Rivera, Melissa Dunphy, Marques L.A. Garrett, Han Lash, Caroline Shaw, Moira Smiley, and Christopher Theofanidis. Committed to diversity and inclusion in artistic programming, DiOrio proudly programs works that reflect the diversity of our world.

As a composer, DiOrio has been hailed for a keenly intelligent, evocative style, which shows “a tour de force of inventive thinking and unique colour” (Gramophone). His over 50 published works have appeared at major venues around the world including the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. He writes music for singers and players of all ages and experiences, and his recent commissioning partners include the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, the Worcester Youth Orchestras, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

Since 2012, he has been a member of the choral conducting faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he serves as Professor of Music and leads the select, new music vocal ensemble NOTUS, one of only 24 choirs in the world selected by competitive audition to perform at the 12th World Symposium on Choral Music in Auckland, New Zealand, before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

DiOrio recently completed a term as president of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (2018-2022). For his leadership during the pandemic, he was honored with NCCO's inaugural Distinguished Service Award. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the Yale School of Music, as well as the MMA and MM in conducting from Yale and the BM in composition summa cum laude from Ithaca College.

dominick smiling and looking out