|
The American choral conductor and music pedagogue, Nancy Lee Menk, obtained her Bachelor of Arts (1977) and Master of Arts (1978) degrees in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; and her Master of Music and DMA (1985) degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Nancy Menk holds the Mary Lou and Judd Leighton Chair in Music at Saint Mary's College where she is celebrating her 36th year as professor of music and director of choral activities (since August 1984). She also serves as chair of the Department of Music and teaches graduate conducting at the University of Notre Dame (since September 2008). At Saint Mary's College, she conducts the Women's Choir and the Collegiate Choir, teaches conducting, and prepares the Madrigal Singers for the annual Christmas madrigal dinners. Under her direction, the Women’s Choir has performed on tour throughout the USA and it regularly commissions, performs, and records new works for women's voices for their series on the ProOrgano label. She is also Founder and Artistic Director of South Bend Chamber Singers (since January 1989), and also serves as conductor of the 110-voice Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus (since September 1998).
Menk serves regularly as a guest conductor and choral adjudicator throughout the USA. She has conducted All-State Choirs in Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. In August 2011, she served as guest conductor for the Hong Kong Youth Music Camp Chorus. In 2014, she appeared at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, conducting music by American composer Gwyneth Walker for women’s voices and orchestra. In March 2019, she made her seventh appearance at Carnegie Hall, conducting a program of works for women’s voices and orchestra by Michael Haydn, Johannes Brahms, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Libby Larsen, and Ola Gjeilo. In 2017, she became the first woman to program and conduct a subscription concert of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. She currently lives in South Bend, Indiana. |
