News Archive 2004-2005
Melinda O’Neal appointed Artistic Director & Conductor of the Handel Choir of Baltimore
Melinda O’Neal, Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, will assume leadership of the Handel Choir of Baltimore in September with the start of the Choir’s seventieth season. O’Neal brings to the Handel Choir 25 years of experience as a choral and choral-orchestral conductor in the New England area. She is especially well known for her work with the Handel Society, one of Dartmouth’s premier choral organizations. As the twelfth Artistic Director of the Choir, O’Neal assumes leadership from T. Herbert Dimmock III, now Director Emeritus.
O’Neal’s move offers new opportunities for her and the Choir. O’Neal said, “I am looking forward to getting to know the people of Baltimore, the city and its artistic and cultural personality, and to guiding the Handel Choir into a new era of heightened creativity and accomplishment. There is an astonishing treasure-trove of great choral and choral-orchestral music to be sung, played, heard – music to be experienced first-hand and understood. I’m honored to become a part of the wonderful artistic liveliness of the region and part of the Handel Choir with its mission of both excellence and outreach.”
Melinda O’Neal is a Berlioz scholar and holds both a Masters and a Doctorate of Music in choral-orchestral conducting from the Indiana University School of Music. A Maryland native, she will be in residence in the Baltimore area during the concert season while returning to her tenured position at Dartmouth during summer months. In addition, O’Neal is conductor of Boston Vocal Artists, a 8-10 voice professional vocal ensemble and a young artists training program.
