About Donald McCullough

Born: August 16, 1957

Donald McCullough is considered one of America’s preeminent choral conductors. Hailed by the Washington Post for his “dazzling expertise” on the podium, he is known for his fresh and vibrant interpretations of both choral standards and contemporary works.

As the Music Director of the Master Chorale of Washington (MCW) for over a decade, the Master Chorale has become known for singing “with an innate sense of lyricism and musical poise” in performances that are “sensitive, scrupulous and heartfelt” (Washington Post). During his tenure, MCW has performed sixteen world premieres, commissioned a major choral work by Adolphus Hailstork, produced three nationally distributed CD's, and received several prestigious honors and awards including national recognition from Chorus America as the recipient of The Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence in North America.

He has led MCW on two international tours, the latest at the invitation of German and Polish consular officials who invited MCW to be a featured guest chorus during Europe’s commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. On this tour, the Master Chorale performed the European premiere of McCullough’s poignant and deeply affecting Holocaust Cantata in Krakow’s St. Katharina Church, the memorial site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, the crypt of Dresden’s Frauenkirche, and St. Hedwig’s Cathedral to deeply moved and highly appreciative audiences in both countries. McCullough has also led the Master Chorale in performances at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in such renowned music venues as Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, and historic Riverside Church.

With over 20 published choral works to his credit, McCullough has gained wide recognition as a composer. Most recently the Berkshire Choral Festival commissioned a setting of Psalm 150 for chorus and orchestra while inviting him to return to the BCF as a guest conductor to present several of his own choral works, including the world premiere of Psalm 150.

Since his arrival in Washington, DC in 1996, Donald McCullough has composed three extended works that have all realized Kennedy Center world premieres. After its initial performance at the Kennedy Center in 1998, his Holocaust Cantata—a work that immortalized tunes written by prisoners in concentration camps—was later featured in The New York Times, The Washington Times and on CNN (visit the Press Room to read reviews). It has since received over 100 performances throughout the world to critical acclaim.

Following the success of Holocaust Cantata, he composed and performed the premiere of his first extended Christmas work with the Master Chorale of Washington—Canite Tuba: A Christmas Triptych—in December 2001 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to enthusiastic reviews and in 2003 he unveiled Let My People Go: A Spiritual Journey along the Underground Railroad in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, a 65 minute work that explores the coded language hidden within slave spirituals that helped them escape slavery. Since its premiere, Let My People Go! has had several repeat performances by other choruses including four performances as part of the Inaugural of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Strongly committed to developing the vocal talent of young singers, McCullough initiated the All-City Honors Chorus in 1997, which MCW sponsors in partnership with The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Under his leadership the All-City Honors Chorus has evolved into a vital educational outreach program for the under-served children of the District’s public schools that each year culminates in a thrilling concert performance in the prestigious Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

Donald McCullough holds bachelor degrees in both organ and vocal performance from Stetson University and master degrees in both sacred music and vocal performance from Southern Methodist University. He came to Washington, DC in 1996 from Norfolk, Virginia, where he had founded two organizations that continue to thrive today—the Virginia Symphony Chorus and the Virginia Chorale, which continues to be that state’s only fully professional choral ensemble. He serves on the board of directors of Chorus America, the national service organization for choruses in the United States and Canada, and regularly appears as a guest conductor and clinician.

(updated February 2007)