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The American choral conductor and music pedagogue, Bradley Almquist, obtained his Bachelor of Sciemce deree in Music Education (1977-1982) and his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting (1982-1984) from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks; and was awarded the first Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting by Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (1988-1991), where he also studied Music Education and Musicology.
Bradley Almquist taught choral music, general music, music education, and studio voice at Columbus High School, the University of Wisconsin Center Marshfield-Wood County, and Eastern Michigan University. He was appointed the Director of Choral Activities at Murray State University in Kentucky in 1992. Choirs conducted by him have performed for the Kentucky Choral Directors Association, the Kentucky Music Educators Association, Southern Division Conventions of MENC, ACDA, and the 2002 MENC National Convention. In addition, they were honored to perform the Raymond Brock Memorial Commission at the 2006 Southern Division ACDA convention. His choirs regularly perform around the state and region, and have performed in England, Scotland, and Wales. In addition to his professional teaching, Dr. Almquist serves as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor throughout the mid-west and southern USA.
His research has been published or presented during conferences of ACDA Southern Division, Kentucky Music Educators Association, Kentucky Choral Directors Association, North Carolina ACDA, Mississippi State University Choral Colloquium, Sewanee Church Music Conference, Utah Music Educators Association, and the Minnesota Music Educators Association. Areas of research interest include the application of Brain Compatible Teaching Strategies to the Choral Rehearsal, the General Music Classroom and Special Needs Children; Teaching Singing in the Choral Rehearsal; and Baroque Composer, Isabella Leonarda.
Bradley Almquist is the recipient of the 2002 Murray State University Board of Regents Teaching Excellence award, the 2002 MSU College of Humanities and Fine Arts Award for Creative/Scholarly Activity, and the 2005 and 2009 MSU College of Humanities and Fine Arts Award for Outstanding Service. He was awarded at the 2004 Summer KyACDA convention with the Robert K. Baar Award for choral excellence. In 2006, he received the first Charles and Marleen Johnson Outstanding Music Faculty Award at Murray State University. He was honored with the award again in 2011.
In addition to his university responsibilities, Bradley Almquist conducts the Paducah Symphony Chorus (since 2009) and the Paducah Symphony Children’s Chorus (since 2012). He is a member of NAfME, CMS, ACDA, is a past president of the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association and the Kentucky Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. |
