Leadership | Wisconsin Choral Directors Association

New Central District Representative

The Executive Board of WCDA in conjunction with the nominating committee is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John Hughes as Central District Representative to the WCDA board of directors beginning July 1, 2019. John will join the WCDA board in this role to fulfill the second half of the term currently held by Brad Burrill. Brad will be moving out of the central district and will be unable to fulfill his term. We sincerely thank Brad for his service to WCDA and wish him well in his future endeavors. Please read more about John below.

John C. Hughes is assistant professor of music, director of choral activities, and chair of the Department of Music at Ripon College in Wisconsin. There, he conducts the college’s choirs and teaches conducting and choral methods. Additionally, Hughes was recently appointed Executive and Artistic Director Designate of the Green Lake Festival of Music and will begin his leadership role in October 2019. Within the Green Lake Festival, he conducts the Composer Residency, through which he has worked with Ola Gjeilo (2018) and Shawn Kirchner (2019). Outside of Ripon College and the Green Lake Festival of Music, he is in demand as a clinician and honor choir conductor.

Accompanying his busy performance schedule, Hughes is passionate about choral literature and scholarship, specializing in Lutheran music before 1600 and trends in contemporary choral composition. His book-length modern edition of Leonard Lechner’s Passion setting (1593) will be published in early 2020. He has also authored peer-reviewed articles in the Choral Journal and The Choral Scholar, as well as numerous reviews of choral music, books, and recordings. For several years, he hosted Choir Chat, a weekly podcast of interviews with conductors and composers that ended after 129 episodes.

Hughes is active in many professional organizations. He serves as associate editor of score reviews for The Choral Scholar and the repertoire and resources state chair for the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association. He is a national board member of and the Wisconsin state representative for the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

Hughes earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana College (IL), M.M. from Northern Illinois University, and D.M.A. from The University of Iowa.