Meet the Leadership of the

Blacksburg Master Chorale

Music Director

Dr. Dwight Bigler is the Director of Choral Activities at Virginia Tech and Music Director of the Blacksburg Master Chorale. He has also held positions as assistant conductor and pianist of the Dale Warland Singers and guest faculty at Colorado State University–Fort Collins. Under his direction, the Virginia Tech Chamber Singers have performed for the Virginia Music Educators Association conference, in collaboration with the Blacksburg Master Chorale in performances of major works with choir and orchestra, and in concert halls throughout Italy, Ireland, and Spain. He has conducted concerts and workshops throughout the United States and in China, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Ecuador, and Indonesia.  

Bigler is also an active composer and pianist. He has many published choral works and has frequently performed as pianist with colleagues throughout the country. Bigler received his bachelor’s degree in piano performance and his master’s in choral conducting from Brigham Young University and his doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Assistant Conductor

In the fall of 1964 Dr. Larry Wyatt signed his first teaching contract and has been engaged in teaching since. That first position was as elementary band director and eventually high school chorus director. Working with the high school chorus was a life changing experience. Following his master’s degree in Choral Music Education, he accepted a position as choral director, voice teacher and assorted brass instruments at then CFJC in Ocala, Florida (1966-69.) The U.S. Army decided it needed him to defend the country against bad band music and made him a rehearsal band director at the Armed Forces School of Music (1969-71.) He then enrolled in the doctoral program at Florida State and shared a part time elementary teaching job with his wife Susan, who supervised his teaching.

After a year in an interim choral directing position at the University of Houston, he joined the faculty at Loyola University in New Orleans. While there he founded the New Orleans Symphony Chorus and an annual Collegiate Choral Festival. Active in the American Choral Directors’ Association, he served in a number of offices including President of the Southern Division. His Loyola Choir performed on two Division and one National Convention and toured internationally four times.

In 1987 he was appointed Director of Choral Studies at USC. Continuing work in the professional association his USC Concert Choir has been a headliner on two division conventions and he co-directed the Ecumenical Service at a national convention. The Palmetto Mastersingers were also selected to perform on one convention. He is one of the most published active choral director authors in professional journals and was interviewed and published in “In Quest of Answers, Interviews with American Choral Directors “ by Carole Glenn, published by Hinshaw Publishers. He edits a series for American Voices for Alliance Music Publishers. At USC he is in charge of the DMA and MM degree programs in choral conducting. Of approximately 45 graduates of the doctoral program 40 are in university teaching positions.

Dr. Wyatt recently retired from USC and moved to Blacksburg with his wife to be closer to their grandchildren.

2023-2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

Immediate Past President

Treasurer

Secretary

VP of Marketing and Public Relations

VP of Membership

VP of Development

Stage Manager

Member-at-Large

Member-at-Large

Member-at-Large

Member-at-Large

Member-at-Large

Member-at-Large

Managing Director