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Dale Warland turned a love for disciplined, adventurous singing into a leading voice in contemporary music with his Dale Warland Singers. He continues to Inspire students and pros alike to this day.
The first time Dale Warland commissioned a new piece of choral music, he contacted world-famous Jean Berger to write for Warland's student choir at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. The well-known composer dedicated the piece to Warland, who was then still an undergraduate who hadn't a clue that commissions are typically paid. Berger didn't mind - he was happy to send the promising young conductor a brand new work.
The commission certainly wouldn't be his last. Dale Warland went on to have one of the most renowned careers in choral music, establishing new arteries of support for professional chorus work with over 270 new pieces of music from composers of all types. His beloved singing group, the Dale Warland Singers, spanned over 30 years in action (1972 to 2004) and 300 members, making unforgettable marks on the classical music landscape. They recorded 23 albums (including the Grammy-nominated Waiden Pond) and appeared worldwide in concert and in annual radio broadcasts of the group's classic Echoes of Chrìstmas.
Though he ended his career with the Singers nine years, Warland has remained busy with a long list of guest conducting jobs, residencies, masterclasses, positions with professional choirs in Minnesota, and even composing work. Last fall, he was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame alongside composer Steve Reich and the Beaux Arts Trio, among others. It seemed the perfect time to survey Warland's career and his monumental efforts at establishing a new level of excellence in professional choral singing.
Warland grew up in a very small town in Iowa. His father, a farmer, was a self-taught trombone player, marching band enthusiast, and dedicated choir singer, and his grandfather had been a lifelong member of the local church choir. Warland followed his church's conductor's lead and enrolled at St. Olaf College, a lynchpin in the Midwest's ages-old choral tradition that can be traced back to Scandinavian Lutheran churches. Warland's leadership and conducting skills quickly earned him his own choir there, which he soon used to commission the Berget piece.
Warland went on to join...