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The American choral conductor and music pedagogue, Welborn E. Young obtained his Bachelor of Music anmd Master of Music degrees from from Middle Tennessee State University. He holds the DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Welborn Young is Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) where he was the recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. He arrived at UNCG from Chicago in 2000 and conducted the Women's Choir, Men's Glee Club, taught classes in German diction, undergraduate conducting, and choral repertoire at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Currently, he directs the University Chamber Singers and teaches graduate conducting and graduate seminars in choral repertoire. He has been active as the conductor of the UNCG Summer Music Camp Senior Mixed Chorus since 2002.
Welborn Young was Artistic Director and Conductor for Windy City Performing Arts, Inc. in Chicago. For seven years, since 2000, he served as Conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro in performances of major choral-orchestral works. In 2005, he was named Artistic Director and Conductor of Bel Canto Company, an ensemble of professional singers. Bel Canto Company has been featured on the National Public Radio program Performance Today. As the Artistic Director and Conductor of Bel Canto Company, he is committed not only to the performance of choral music at the highest level of vocal artistry but to the development of greater understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of choral music for its audiences.
Welborn Young has been a featured festival conductor at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, at the York Minster International Choral Festival in Great Britain, and at Carnegie Hall. He has served as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for numerous workshops, honor choirs, festivals and clinics in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, the District of Columbia, Washington D.C., Illinois and Oregon. His choirs have toured in Europe performing in such cities as Florence (Italy), Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic), Cambridge, York, and London (England). He was guest conductor of Chicago's Grant Park Symphony Chorus and assisted with the preparation of their first recording.
Welborn Young has presented papers and lead interest sessions at national and international conferences on topics such as the music of György Orbán and Morten Lauridsen, skill building for church musicians, choral techniques addressing the needs of a volunteer ensemble, and choral blend. His choirs have received positive reviews in papers such as the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune, which referred to his performances as "glorious", "precision-honed", and "shining." He has prepared and conducted the Nashville Symphony Chorus and appeared as guest conductor with the Nashville Opera Association. In addition, he has prepared his choirs for performances with John Rutter, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Stuart Malina. He has served on the board of NC ACDA and is currently its president. He established and administers the NCMEA High School and Middle School Honors Chorus Clinics at UNCG preparing young students for their auditions for Honors Chorus. |
