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The American tenor and conductor, John Russell, completed his undergraduate study at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and received a master’s degree in Music Education from Columbia University Teacher's College in New York City. He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he is completing his dissertation focusing on the choral music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
John Russell was the Director of Choral Activities at Albion College in Albion, Michigan where he conducted the Briton Singers and Concert Choir and taught music theory and history. He has held similar posts at Los Angeles City College, Long Beach City College and the San Diego Children's Choir. Prior to his work in California, Russell was the principal choral conductor at the LaGuardia School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (the Fame School) in New York City. At LaGuardia he was the assistant ahairperson of the Music Department, conductor of the symphonic chorus and voice instructor for the school’s advanced vocalists. While in New York he conducted in over twenty performances with New York’s renowned Orchestra of St. Luke’s, served as a clinician for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s Education Department, and was a guest conductor with New York City National Chorale.
Curretly, John Russell is the conductor of the Chamber Singers at California State University, San Bernardino where he also teaches Choral Conducting and Choral Literature. In addition, he is the conductor of the Masterworks Chorale at Cypress College and is the assistant conductor, tenor soloist and section leader at the Village Presbyterian Church in Rancho Santa Fe, California. During the summer he serves on the conducting faculty at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey as a member of the Westminster Chamber Choir.
In addition to his work as a teacher and conductor, John Russell is also active as a professional tenor soloist. He is a current member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and most recently performed J.S. Bach's Mass in B-Minor (BWV 232) with the Westminster Chamber Choir and Orchestra in Princeton, New Jersey. He also sings regularly with the Bach Collegium San Diego, the Horizon Chamber Choir and the South Coast Chamber Choir. In June, he will perform as the tenor soloist in the Portuguese Summer Choral Festival’s performance of Carmina Burana in Lisbon, Portugal.
Guest appearances have included: George Frideric Handel: Israel in Egypt, Westminster Chamber Choir and Orchestra, Princeton, New Jersey; J.S. Bach: Magnificat (BWV 243), Westminster Choir College Summer Sing, Princeton, New Jersey; Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, Lisbon Summer Choral Festival, Lisbon, Portugal; Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, Orange County Choral Society, Huntington Beach, California; G.F. Handel: Messiah, Bach Collegium San Diego, San Diego, California; J.S. Bach: Gott fahret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43, Pacific Bach Project, San Diego, Calfornia; Benjamin Britten: Serenade for Tenor Horn and Strings, California Chamber Orchestra, Temecula, California; G.F. Handel: Messiah, Long Beach Camarata Singers, Long Beach, California; J.S. Bach, Himmelskonig sei willkommen, BWV 182, Horizon Music Group, Los Angeles Bach Festival; David Lang: Little Match Girl Passion, Westminster Chamber Choir, Princeton, New Jersey. |
