Harris Ipock Appointed Visiting Choral Artist and Conservatory Choir Director

Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed Harris Ipock, M.M., as a visiting choral artist and Conservatory Choir director beginning August 2017.

“I’m delighted that Harris will be joining our conservatory to direct our wonderful Conservatory Choir and work with colleagues in further shaping our choral community,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “Whether conducting at Harvard or Boston University, or singing in some of the finest choirs in the country, he has received broad accolades for exceptional artistry, highly collaborative work, and a demonstrated passion for mentoring student musicians.”

Ipock is currently the resident conductor of the Harvard Glee Club at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He previously served on the faculty of Boston University, where he conducted the Boston University Singers and the Symphonic Chorus and was the interim director of undergraduate choruses from fall 2016 through spring 2017. In addition to a full conducting schedule, Ipock remains active as a soloist and professional chorister, singing in some of the country’s leading choirs. As a member of Conspirare, led by Craig Hella Johnson, he served as a section leader on the Grammy Award-winning album “Sacred Spirit of Russia.” He has also performed regularly with Santa Fe Desert Chorale, led by Joshua Haberman, and has appeared with Yale Choral Artists, Publick Musick, Cambridge Concentus, La Donna Musicale, Voices, Vox Lumine, Virginia Chorale, Norfolk Chamber Consort, and North Carolina Symphony Baroque Choir. His credits as a soloist include “Dover Beach” (Victoria Bach Festival), “St. Matthew Passion” (Conspirare), Monteverdi’s “Vespers” (Cambridge Concentus), J.S. Bach’s “Magnificat” (Back Bay Chorale) and Haydn’s “Paukenmesse” (Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus). He recently served as choirmaster for Odyssey Opera’s debut performance of Wagner’s “Rienzi,” and is the male choir chair of the Massachusetts American Choral Directors Association.

“We are thrilled to welcome Harris to our community this year,” said Vocal/Choral Division Chair and Associate Professor of Voice (Tenor) Byron Jones, D.M.A. “I know our singers will benefit from the depth and breadth of the experience he brings to Shenandoah Conservatory. I look forward to watching (and hearing!) their development under his direction.”

“Harris Ipock’s recent tenure with the Harvard Glee Club, whether at home in Cambridge and in tours world-wide, has carried on an extraordinary tradition of excellence while constantly raising the profile and skill of this prestigious ensemble,” reflected outgoing director of the Shenandoah Conservatory Choir Scott Allen Jarrett, D.M.A. “The Shenandoah Conservatory Choir has long enjoyed such exceptional leadership, and I’m thrilled that Harris will guide the next chapter with these wonderfully talented students.”

Ipock is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He received a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has studied choral conducting with William Weinert, Daniel Bara and Susan Klebanow, and voice with Robert McIver, John Kramar and Stafford Wing.

Ipock’s appointment to this one-year visiting position precedes a fall search for a full-time career contract appointment for Conservatory Choir director, for which he will be enthusiastically invited to apply.

Learn more about Ipock at www.harrisipock.com.