Guest Conductor
I am equally passionate about working with my own choirs as I am about being on the road and conducting other ensembles. My approach is energetic and engaging, which creates an immediate connection with singers!
“I’ve never had time better spent.”
Mia T., 2019 Nebraska All-State Soprano (Instagram post)
“Dr. Hill was an extraordinary director!”
Nate M., 2019 Nebraska All-State Tenor (Instagram post)
All-State Choirs
I was thrilled to conduct my first All-State Chorus in my home state of Nebraska in 2019. The Nebraska Choral Directors Association honored me as their 2018-19 Choral Conductor of the Year, and asked me to conduct their All-State Concert Choir. The program featured “Mungu Ni Pendo,” arr. Gower. Dies Irae from Mozart’s “Requiem” (which featured a professional string quintet), “Die Mainacht” of Brahms, arr. McCullough, “O Love” by Elaine Hagenberg, and Hans Heruth’s “Joy.”
Honor Choirs
Honor choirs are special experiences for singers, their teachers, and the clinician. I enjoy the urgency of these short-term events, which demand focus, energy, and passion in order to create a fulfilling experience for everyone involved. I have been conducting Festival and Honor choirs annually since 2009, and I enjoy each new group of singers!
Festivals
Festival choirs are exciting one-time ensembles who convene for an educational artistic experience. I prefer to work with festival choirs whose singers have learned the music in advance, which makes the instruction time much more valuable to the group, and helps to ensure a high-quality performance experience.
Classroom Clinics
I love to work with choirs in their home rehearsals. When invited into a rehearsal by a choir’s conductor, I ask about the repertoire being rehearsed so that I can prepare in advance to give feedback on performance practice, diction, tone color selection, interpretation, and other stylistic elements.
Clinics with me are incredibly interactive. First, I hear the ensemble perform a portion of each selection before taking the podium and leading the choir through rehearsal. My classical vocal training, keyboard skills, and expertise in conducting combine to provide a well-rounded clinic experience for you and your singers. I am always positive in my constructive criticism, and provide immediate, practical methods to achieve improvement in one or more of any number of areas.
I am also careful to ensure that the home conductor’s vision is at the forefront of my suggestions, and to communicate to the singers that the ultimate decision-making authority in all matters belongs to their conductor. This immediate establishment of mutual respect creates an environment conducive to fast-paced learning.
Your choir is guaranteed to have a great experience, and will always feel better about their own music making after our work together, whether in-person or via Zoom.
“Matt Hill is great because he has a perfect way of connecting with us as students and explaining precisely what he was looking for. Just from his words, you could tell the brilliance of what he was saying, but he was very humble about it. That’s what I liked most about him.”
Jake G.
High School Junior
Adjudication
I regularly serve as an adjudicator for concert choir festival and competition performances. My primary focuses as a judge are on tone production, interpretation of music/text, and general performance effect.
I also judge solos, small groups, and large ensembles at District Music Contests in Nebraska each year.
Recent adjudication engagements include events in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Tennessee.
“Recently Matt Hill came out and worked with my top choir at Millard South. Today the choir informed me that I have ‘Man Crush’ on him.”
Jason Stevens
Director of Choirs
Millard South High School