Andrew Megill is recognized
as one of the leading choral conductors of his generation, known for his
passionate artistry and unusually wide-ranging repertoire, extending from
Renaissance music to newly commissioned works. He has prepared choruses for the
American Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival
Orchestra, and the Berkshire Opera for conductors including Zdenek Macal,
Joseph Flummerfelt, Richard Bradshaw, Leon Botstein, Spiros Argiris, Joel
Revzen, and Julius Rudel. Mr. Megill has also assisted Maestro Flummerfelt in
preparing the Westminster Symphonic Choir for performances and recordings with
the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York
Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra under such
conductors as Claudio Abbado, Kurt Masur, Zdenek Macal, Wolfgang Sawallisch,
and Robert Shaw.
Since 1989, he has served
as artistic director of Fuma Sacra, which currently serves as
ensemble-in-residence at Westminster and is recognized as one of America's
leading professional ensembles specializing in Renaissance and Baroque vocal
music. Mr. Megill also serves as chorus master for the Spoleto Festival U.S.A.,
where he was recently acclaimed for training "the finest opera chorus in
the world," (Charleston Post and Courier); as music director of the
Concert Chorale of New York, and as associate conductor of the Westminster
Symphonic Choir. Mr. Megill is also music director of the Masterwork Chorus and
Orchestra. He has led the Masterwork Chorus, one of New Jersey's finest
volunteer choirs, in major choral-orchestral repertory throughout New Jersey
and New York, including at Avery Fisher and Carnegie Halls.
He is also in frequent
demand as a guest conductor for groups such as the New York Choral Artists, the
Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C., Princeton Opera, the National Christian
Fine Arts Council, and the Charleston Singers' Guild. He served as associate
conductor and chorus master for the Garden State Philharmonic for six years and
as conductor of the West Village Chorale in Manhattan.
Last year Mr. Megill was
appointed conductor of the Westminster
Singers. In addition to his activity as a conductor, he is widely recognized
as an educator. He is a member of the conducting faculty at Westminster, where
he has taught graduate and undergraduate conducting and choral literature, and
has led workshops in choral technique and conducting, choral repertoire, group
vocal techniques, diction, and performance practice for many organizations.
Mr. Megill is also an
accomplished pianist and singer. As a rehearsal accompanist, he has played for
many of the world's leading conductors, including Bernstein, Flummerfelt,
Masur, Mehta, Muti, Shaw, Slatkin, Tilson Thomas, and Wolff; he has sung with
professional choirs and orchestras across the United States, particularly in
contemporary and Baroque repertoire (including the Bach Evangelists).
Mr. Megill may be heard as
a singer or conductor on numerous recordings, including Fuma Sacra's CDs The
Best Nowells That E'er Befell (1996), an album of music for Christmas from
10 centuries in seven languages, and Mater Dolorosa, a collection of
Italian sacred music of the 17th century (including a performance of Domenico
Scarlatti's Stabat Mater which "left the audience gasping in
amazement" (Classical New Jersey).