Brian Gendron, Music Director

Brian Gendron is the Director of Choral Activities at Virginia Tech, where he conducts four ensembles and teaches choral literature and conducting. Since his appointment in 2003, Virginia Tech ensembles have received invitations to perform at state conferences sponsored by the Virginia Music Educators Association and Virginia Music Teachers Association. They have performed with the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Kansas City Baroque Consortium.

In addition to his responsibilities at Virginia Tech, Gendron is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Blacksburg Master Chorale (BMC). The BMC has performed a wide range of choral-orchestral works under his direction, including Bach’s Mass in B minor, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, Corigliano’s Fern Hill, and Pärt’s Te Deum. Under his leadership, the BMC has expanded to include the Blacksburg Children’s Chorale and the Blacksburg Master Singers.

Gendron conducts the Annual Blacksburg Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in performances of J.S. Bach’s sacred cantatas. He also serves as Chorus Master for select Opera Roanoke productions, including past performances of Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, and Verdi’s Macbeth.

Gendron has conducted choirs for Goodrich High School (MI) and Hollins University and has served as Director of Music for churches in Michigan and Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also completed his residency for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting. He performed with Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana, Cantate in Bloomfield Hills, MI, and the Dennis Keene Choral Festival Chamber Choir in Kent, CT.

Gendron is active as an adjudicator, guest conductor and clinician throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Upcoming engagements include Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra, as well as Beethoven’s Fidelio with Opera Roanoke. He will also prepare choruses for American Opera Theater’s staging of Handel’s Messiah and Charpentier’s David et Jonathas, which will be presented in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York.

His professional affiliations include the American Choral Director’s Association, International Federation of Choral Music, and Music Educator’s National Conference.

Patrice Yearwood, Community Children's Choir Conductor

Patrice Yearwood has 25 years experience teaching and working with children of all ages. She taught in public schools in the Richmond and Roanoke areas for 14 years, concentrating on elementary and choral music education, then incorporating these skills into teaching at a center for gifted education. Her choral students have been invited to perform at many special events/arenas, most notably, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke Schools Annual Convocation, Hotel Roanoke, and Hollins College. Mrs. Yearwood was presented the State PTA Teachers’ Award of Excellence in 1994.

Currently, Mrs. Yearwood has a music studio where she teaches Musikgarten classes in early childhood music and movement, piano and voice. The studio has expanded to include a satellite teaching area in Blacksburg and will open another in the Dublin area in Fall 2006. Mrs. Yearwood received the Musikgarten Exemplary Teachers’ Award at the National Musikgarten Festival in 2004 and 2005.

At church she is actively involved with children’s and youth music programs. The Cantus Dominum Choir, which specializes in the Evensong tradition, has presented concerts in Washington, DC, Maine, the historic Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, VA , Richmond, VA and throughout the Diocese of Southwest, VA, most notably as the choir for the Annual Council in 2001 held at the Hotel Roanoke.

Patrice Yearwood has a B.A. in Music Education and an M.A. in Liberal Arts, has teacher certifications in Music K-12, Middle Grades 4-8 and Gifted Education, all levels of Musikgarten teacher training and is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, Early Childhood Music and Movement Association and the American Choral Directors’ Association.

Joetta Petersen, Accompanist

Joetta Petersen is a graduate of James Madison University, where she studied with Dr. Marion Perkins. While at JMU, she performed Maurice Ravel’s Sonatine for Piano and Norman Dello Joio’s Suite for Piano among other works. Ms. Petersen has lived in Blacksburg for 8 years and this is her fifth year as accompanist for the Blacksburg Master Chorale. During this time she has been a featured artist with the Chorale in Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle, Handel’s Messiah, and Durufle’s Requiem. Currently, Ms. Petersen maintains a private piano studio of 35 students and is the organist at Blacksburg Baptist Church.

Board of Directors

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