Christopher Windle
Christopher Windle is a conductor, clinician, and educator in Chicago, IL, who has conducted throughout North America, South America, and Europe. As a conductor, he has been praised for his “nuanced, soulful, clear, and expressive” conducting “firmly rooted in musical sensitivity and intelligence” (Augusta Read Thomas, composer). His choirs have been lauded for their “supple collective timbre, clear diction, and spotless intonation” (Chicago Classical Review), “sensual unison” (Splash Magnzine), “staggering bravura and faultless intonation” (Chicago Classical Review), and described as a “peak musical experiences where art does not get any better than this” (Third Coast Review).
As Artistic & Music Director of the William Ferris Chorale and Artistic Director of the Chicago Chamber Choir, Windle has commissioned and premiered works by over 20 composers, performed for national audiences at venues including the Harris Theater and Auditorium Theater (Chicago), and collaborated with artists, musicians, and organizations from throughout the United States including the Chicago Philharmonic and Sleeping at Last.
He continues to serve as the Associate Director of Music & Choirmaster at the Church of the Atonement in Chicago, where choirs sing weekly choral mass and monthly evensong.
A passionate teacher, Windle is on the conducting faculty at DePaul University School of Music. He has taught at Loyola University Chicago, Benedictine University, and Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.
In demand as a clinician, Windle has worked with Towson University Men’s Chorus, Schola Laudis of the Monastery of the Holy Cross, Windy City Performing Arts, the Chicago Bar Association Chorus, Singing City (Philadelphia), the Bridge Ensemble (Baltimore), the Maryland State Boychoir, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, the Northfield Youth Choirs (Minnesota), and high school ensembles throughout the midwest.
Equally at home as a tenor, Windle has sung in professional choirs throughout the country, including The Crossing, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, the Grant Park Chorus, the South Dakota Chorale, and Bella Voce.
Windle holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Temple University, and earned his DMA in Choral Conducting from Northwestern University with Donald Nally. He serves on IL-ACDA leadership board as the Composition Award Chair.
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