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Schedule for Heather Buchanan

Australian born conductor Heather J. Buchanan is Director of Choral Activities at Montclair State University (MSU), Upper Montclair, NJ where she conducts the 150-voice Chorale and auditioned 50-voice University Singers. She is co-editor and compiler of the GIA choral series Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, (Vol. 2, 2007; Vol. 1, 2005), has published a DVD-Video Evoking Sound: Body Mapping & Gesture Fundamentals (2002 & 2004) and two choral octavos in the Evoking Sound Choral Series also by GIA. Prior to Montclair she was on the conducting faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she conducted Westminster Schola Cantorum and taught graduate and undergraduate choral conducting. A certified Andover Educator, Ms. Buchanan specializes in the teaching of Body Mapping and somatic pedagogy for choral musicians. She is also a certified Johrei Reiki Practitioner. Ms. Buchanan is a Ph.D. Candidate with the University of New England (Australia) researching the impact of Body Mapping on student musicians. From 2000-04 she was Artistic Director and Conductor of the Greater South Jersey Chorus during which time she conducted the full chorus and Chamber Choir in a variety of concerts and community events, and recorded their first commercial CD Tis the Season! She also served as chair for Repertoire & Standards for Youth & Student Activities for the New Jersey Chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association (2001-2005). Born in Brisbane, Australia, Ms. Buchanan earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Australia) and a Master of Music degree with distinction from Westminster with a double major in choral conducting and music education.

A vibrant musician and dynamic pedagogue, choirs under Ms. Buchanan’s direction have won critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction,” “new-minted enthusiasm, vibrancy,” being a “marvel of diction, tuning & rhythm”, “impeccable dynamics and diction,” “vibrant sound,” and singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” Recent performance highlights include preparing the opera chorus for the regional premier of Elmer Gantry (January 2008), conducting the 2007 Dvorák Festival in Prague and Vienna, a 10-day European tour culminating in a performance at the Ferenc Liszt Zeneakadémia in Budapest, conducting the World Premiere performance of Madison’s Descent by celebrated Irish composer Mícheál ÓSúílleabháin, and conducting the inaugural Australian National Seniors Choral Festival in Newcastle, Australia. In October 2006 the MSU Chorale sang three magnificent performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Maestro Neeme Järvi and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and in December 2006 the University Singers performed with Meredith Monk and Company in an historic collaboration with this renowned composer-artist. In May 2008 she will lead the MSU Singers on a 10-day tour of Russia to celebrate the University’s Centennial, with performances at the Moscow State Conservatory’s Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow and the Tsarskoe Selo in St. Petersburg. Ms. Buchanan is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor and in July 2008 will return to Sydney, Australia to conduct the 2nd Biennial Australian National Seniors Choral Festival. In November 2008 the MSU Chorale will sing three performances of Carmina Burana with the NJSO under the baton of Jacques LaCombe.

A recipient of a prestigious Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship (1996-97), Ms Buchanan is a twice honored Paul Harris Fellow (1997 & 2003) and received a Rotary Foundation Education Award in 1998. She is a member of Phi Beta Delta, the national honor society for international and U.S. students; a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society; an Honorary Member of the Delta Delta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota; and a member of the academic honor society Phi Kappa Phi. She resides in Princeton Junction, New Jersey with her husband Peter and daughter Paige.

Truly in Awe “Thank you for the wonderful workshops you gave at the convention.  I am a Choral director and singer and was truly in awe of the information you shared.  I am also a music therapist who specializes in relaxation therapy and voice problems, so I was very interested in the Body Mapping process.” Thanks again, Enid Bootzin, RMT, NHA

Absolutely Incredible! “This summer session course (Beyond Beginning Choral Conducting) was absolutely incredible!  I was excited about it just looking over the materials ahead of time, because it looked like a completely different approach to teaching conducting.  The course concentrated on the physical aspects of conducting, using the study of movement as a foundation and we identified indications of tension in ourselves and by observing others.  The group dynamic of the class was incredible.  It was like the best ‘small group’ experience you’ve ever had.  We shared openly, celebrated with one another, and created a safe place to try new things without fear of failure.  I highly recommend this course or any seminar that Heather Buchanan teaches.” - Jeanne-Marie Rogers

An Ideal Pedagogue “Thank you so very much for coming to the ACC convention in New York earlier this month, and doing your workshops on Body Mapping, Conducting, and Rehearsal Techniques.  I have to say that you were the sensation of the workshops, and everyone was asking me when they can work with you again!  You are such an ideal pedagogue, and always easy to work with!  Thank you for making this convention so special and sharing your gifts and talents and ideas with the wider cantorial world.  I know they appreciated it as much as I did!  I kept telling people, “I told you she was great!” All the best and thank you again, Cantor Jessica Levitt