Dr. Timothy Shantz
Director
The Madrigal Singers are excited to welcome Dr. Timothy Shantz as our new director for the 2019/2020 season.
Dr. Shantz brings a wealth of expertise and artistry to the Department of Music, as an experienced conductor, collaborator, and tenor soloist. As a conductor, Shantz is recognized for his work in early-music, contemporary works, and virtuoso unaccompanied choral music, as well as large choral-orchestral masterpieces. Kenneth DeLong of the Calgary Herald wrote, “Timothy Shantz led the choir with both energy and grace, drawing from the ensemble sounds that were refined, balanced, and filled with inner life.” Under his direction, Spiritus Chamber Choir earned the Healey Willan Grand Prize from the Canada Council in 2017 and 2013 and has toured internationally, earning second prize at the Fleischmann International Choral Competition in Cork, Ireland as well as second prize at the Florilège Vocal de Tours in France.
Shantz's preparation of choruses for major orchestral works has been equally successful. He has collaborated with conductors Rune Bergmann, Christoph König, Matthew Halls, Paul Hillier, James MacMillan, Nicholas McGegan, Roberto Minczuk, John Morris Russell, Yoav Talmi, Ivars Taurins and Jean-Marie Zeitouni among others. He has also performed as tenor in ensembles under the direction of Pierre Boulez, Frieder Bernius, Paul Goodwin, Paul Hillier, Andrew Megill, John Poole, Leonard Ratzlaff, Daniel Reuss, Robert Shaw, Richard Sparks, Jon Washburn and Bruno Weil.
Shantz has several recordings to his name, including Zachary Wadsworth’s The Far West (2016) of which Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “beautifully sung, as everything here is, by the aptly named Luminous Voices under Timothy Shantz.” “The Far West“ was awarded the 2018 National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Recording and 2016 National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition from Choral Canada. The choir’s first recording, “Mendelssohn’s Te Deum” earned the 2016 Choral Canada award for Outstanding Choral Recording. Other recordings include, James MacMillan's Seven Last Words (Spring 2014), All the Stars Looked Down (2012) and Of Stars and Solitude (2010) with Spiritus Chamber Choir. Performance highlights as tenor include Händel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall, soloist and ensemble singer at the Carmel Bach Festival (2008-2016) and twice with the Lucerne Festival Academy under the direction of Pierre Boulez.
Shantz holds a Doctor of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a dissertation analyzing the unaccompanied choral work Sun-Dogs by composer James MacMillan. Shantz is also a graduate of the University of Alberta's Choral Conducting program (M.Mus 1999), and has a degree in piano performance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario (B.Mus 1995). Previous academic appointments include sessional and associate instructor at the University of Calgary, the University of Windsor, Indiana University, and The King's University College.