Ep. 166 - Achieving High-Level Artistry with Community Choirs - Matt Hill

“The work that we do as choral people matters. The art matters. The music is the engine that drives the experience for everybody. In community organizations, they yearn for high level artistry. They don’t want it to be a hobby. They want to be challenged and fulfilled. I want the experience for them to be fun, but I don’t want it to be ‘for fun.’ There’s no bench in a choir. Everyone is contributing all the time, and we need everybody’s best effort all the time.”Dr. Matt Hill is a choral composer and conductor who specializes in community and collegiate ensembles. In a typical week he conducts five auditioned choirs, including a 7th-12th grade treble choir, undergraduate treble and mixed choirs, and two semi-professional adult ensembles, along with a volunteer church choir.He founded Sing Omaha in 2007 and serves the nonprofit as Artistic and Executive Director. The organization now reaches approximately 500 musicians a year: roughly 350 singers across nine choirs from kindergarten through adult, plus a private lesson studio of 150 students at two locations. He is also Director of Choral Activities at Creighton University and Director of Worship Arts at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church.His forthcoming book, The People-First Conductor, argues that choirs exceed every expectation placed on them when their singers are regarded as people first. Rather than a conducting primer or a repertoire guide, it offers a framework for designing the whole choral experience, from first rehearsal to final bow. The work that happens around the singing determines whether singers will invest in the process and risk the vulnerability that a meaningful social, spiritual, educational, and artistic experience demands.Hill has twice been named Nebraska Choral Director of the Year, and serves as Executive Director of the Nebraska Choral Directors Association. He has represented community choirs on the national ACDA board since 2021, and has published six articles in Choral Journal.As a composer he has been commissioned by ensembles across the country and was selected for the International Choral Composers Institute in 2026, where Great is the Sun! closed the final concert and will be published by Choristers Guild in 2027. His catalog with perusal scores and recordings is available at www.MattHill.music.He lives in Omaha with his wife, Jen, and their 7-year-old son, Walter.To get in touch with Matt, you can visit MattHill.music, email him at [email protected], or find him on Facebook (@MattHillComposer), Instagram (@matthillcomposer), or X (@matthillmusic).Email [email protected] to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson