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The American choral conductor, Michal O'Neal, received the Bachelor and Master of Music Education degrees from Murray State University (KY) and the Doctor of Music Education degree from the University of Georgia.
Michael O'Neal's career in music has included three major emphases: conductor, tenor soloist, and educator.
In 1989 Michael O'Neal created the Michael O'Neal Singers, and since then has guided them swith his vision for attaining the highest standards of choral excellence, while encouraging the love and appreciation for such music among both audiences and chorus members. He has conducted over fifty of the major choral/orchestral masterworks, and his choirs have performed at such places as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Westminster Abbey in London, and the Haydn Festival in Austria. He has appeared as guest conductor and clinician throughout the eastern USA and was conductor of World Choir 1994, which was featured on the national broadcast of CBS Sunday Morning. In May 2000, O'Neal made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall, directing a choir comprised of 150 singers from The Michael O'Neal Singers and the Roswell UMC Sanctuary Choir joined by professional soloists and orchestra for a performance of Schubert's Mass in G. In July 2000, he conducted the Irish premiere of Mary McAuliffe's Return to Old Ireland at Dublin's National Concert Hall.
Michael O'Neal's solo career has included opera and oratorio performances in Italy and Belgium and appearances on National Public Radio and the Armed Forces Radio Network. He performed on five occasions as a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Robert Shaw and was a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in France for two seasons. His work with Robert Shaw evoked the following accolade: "Michael O'Neal possesses fine musicianship, a good sense of style, familiarity with good vocal and choral sound, and a personal integrity and devotion to music. Though personally talented, he always manages to see that the music comes first."
Michael O'Neal's has combined his life as a professional musician with that of an educator, and taught for nearly twenty years at North Georgia College and Mercer University Atlanta. His commitment to education is also integral to his approach to church music and he has worked at various churches throughout north Georgia during the past twenty-five years. He has held the position of Director of Music at the 6500-member Roswell United Methodist Church since 1992. |
