Culture
New Lancaster Chorale Director Appointed
< < Back toNationally recognized choral conductor, composer/arranger and choral music educator Stephen Caracciolo has been appointed artistic director of Lancaster, Ohio’s Lancaster Chorale.
Dr. Caracciolo is assistant professor of Music in Choral Conducting at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Recognized for his passionate artistry and creative teaching, he instructs conducting, voice and choral related courses, and is also director of the Camerata Chamber Choir, a select choir drawn from all majors at the university, which performs a wide variety of compositions ranging from Renaissance motets to contemporary works. He has been guest conductor at the Capital University NOW Music Festival and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini in Piacenza, Italy.
In 1994, Caracciolo founded BelCanto Singers, a professional performing arts organization in Columbus dedicated to chamber choral music. BelCanto Singers met with public praise and critical acclaim.
An extensively published composer, Caracciolo is a recipient of the prestigious Individual Artist’s Fellowship in Composition from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Among his many compositions are: “Come Unto Me All Ye That Labour” (commissioned by Lancaster Chorale), “Adore Te Devote,” “There Is No Rose of Such Virtue,” “A Song of Creation,” and “Ubi Caritas.” His choral works have been performed and recorded extensively throughout the United States and Europe; they are frequently heard on syndicated radio broadcasts, including the well-known Sunday program, With Heart and Voice.
Caracciolo is also a professional choral singer. He has performed masterworks with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Julliard School Orchestra, Indiana University Orchestra, and the American Symphony under the batons of Robert Shaw, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Erich Kunzel, and James Levine. He currently performs as a professional bass at Washington National Cathedral, where he also serves as a substitute conductor for liturgies.
Caracciolo received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Capital University Conservatory of Music in 1985; the Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College in 1992, and the Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University Jacob School of Music in 2008.
“Lancaster Chorale, with its talented artists and dedicated leadership, has been at the forefront of choral performance in Lancaster and Central Ohio for nearly three decades,” said Caracciolo. “I’m delighted with the opportunity to continue and build upon the work and the unique sound that Chorale’s highly respected, long-time conductor, as well as my valued mentor and colleague Robert Trocchia has established.”
Caracciolo went on to call his appointment “incredibly exciting, most certainly the highlight of my conducting career. In Lancaster Chorale I have discovered new passion and purpose, as well as new friends and partners in bringing the art of lively, expressive, eloquent choral performance to the proud and generous citizens of Lancaster and Central Ohio.”
Lancaster Chorale’s 30th season will open with A New Song, a performance featuring ancient texts clothed in innovative sound, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11 at the historic St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Lancaster. A highlight of the program will be the world premiere of Patrick Hawes’ “Psalm 91,” commissioned by Lancaster Chorale in recognition of Robert Trocchia and his extraordinary contributions to Lancaster Chorale during his 28 years as artistic director.