A shorter bio is located at the bottom of the page.
J. Aaron McDermid (b.1974) is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Jamestown. In addition to conducting the Concert Choir and the Chapel Choir, McDermid teaches Ear Training, private voice, conducting, choral arranging, and other related classes. Prior to coming to Jamestown, McDermid was the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Tucson Masterworks Chorale, where he conducted performances of the Bach St. John Passion, Duruflé Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Nänie, and Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum, among others. He was also the Assistant Conductor of the internationally acclaimed University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, and Director of Choral Activities at Northfield High School in Northfield, Minnesota. Under his leadership, the choral program in Northfield came to be recognized as one of Minnesota’s best, with invitations to appear as a solo choir at five prestigious festivals and conventions in three years. In 1999 McDermid was named Outstanding Young Choral Conductor by the American Choral Director’s Association of Minnesota.
McDermid is also establishing a reputation as a composer of both challenging and accessible choral music. He has composed more than 20 commissioned works for ensembles throughout the United States including The National Lutheran Choir, The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, Magnum Chorum, and The Dale Warland Singers. His choral works are published by E.C. Schirmer, Walton Music, and MorningStar Press and are performed by professional, university, church, community, and high school choirs throughout the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. These include performances at ACDA National and Regional Conventions, the Kentucky, Nevada, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Tennessee All-State Choirs, as well as International Choral Festivals in England, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and Taiwan.
As a tenor soloist, McDermid has performed the role of Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion, Ascension Oratorio, and the Schütz Christmas Oratorio, and has appeared as the tenor aria soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn’s St. Paul. McDermid is also the Artistic Director and a member of Chanson, a professional a cappella male vocal ensemble that performs several times a year on concert series throughout the United States
McDermid received his DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona, an MM in Conducting from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Shorter Bio
J. Aaron McDermid is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Jamestown where he conducts the Concert Choir and Chapel Choir, teaches Ear Training, conducting, private voice, and other related classes. As a composer he has written more than 20 commissioned works. His music is published by Walton Music, Mark Foster Music, and MorningStar Press and is performed by choirs throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. He received his DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona, an MM in Conducting from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.