ABOUT
The Concert Choir
The Brigham Young University Concert Choir is an auditioned ensemble made up of nearly one hundred students representing diverse majors from myriad disciplines. This select, mixed-voice ensemble frequently performs choral-orchestral masterworks alongside traditional repertoire from the choral canon, including newly commissioned compositions. Additionally, Concert Choir often performs multicultural selections from across the globe.
The Concert Choir has been a featured ensemble at regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), as guest artists with the Utah Symphony, and on multiple recordings.
Our Conductor: Dr. Brent Wells
Dr. Brent Wells, Associate Professor of Choral Conducting and Ensembles, is the director of the Brigham Young University Men’s Chorus and Concert Choir. Prior to his appointment at BYU, he served as Director of Choral Activities at the College of Idaho and as conductor of Treasure Valley Millennial Choirs and Orchestras™. He has also led choral programs at the secondary level.
Dr. Wells received his DMA in choral conducting at Michigan State University, where he studied with David Rayl, Sandra Snow, and Jonathan Reed. He earned his BM in music education and MM in choral conducting at Brigham Young University under the tutelage of Ronald Staheli, Mack Wilberg, and Rosalind Hall.
Wells’ scholarship and creative activity focus primarily on hymnody and the folksong. He has published a series of articles in the Choral Journal discussing the folk-based compositions and collecting methodology of Percy Grainger and is also active as a composer and arranger. Wells is published by Walton Music and earthsongs, having arranged selections from the sacred harp repertory, the treasury of the African-American spiritual, and the folk traditions of Appalachia, England, Germany, Poland, Vietnam, China, Armenia, and the country of Georgia.
As a bass vocalist, Dr. Wells has performed as a featured soloist and enjoyed membership in many acclaimed choral ensembles. He has sung professionally with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Tennessee Chamber Chorus, Boise Baroque Orchestra, and Redlands Choral Artists. He also performed the Berlioz Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 with the Carnegie Hall Festival Chorus under the direction of Robert Spano.
Auditions
Concert Choir is an auditioned choir, held at the beginning of each fall/winter semester.
