 Dale Voelker
Title: Professor of Music
Phone: 847-628-1111
Department: Music
Office: Thompson Center 105
Year Started: 1996
Degrees
BS, Central Michigan University
MM, Northwestern University
DM, Northwestern University
Biography
Dale Voelker began his music career as a pianist in his native state of Michigan, attending Central Michigan University. After completing his B.S. in Education, he studied at the Westfalian Church Music School in Herford, Germany, under the esteemed conductor and specialist in J. S. Bach and Heinrich Schutz, Dr. Wilhelm Ehmann. He also studied organ with Joerg Neidhardt Keller, and voice with Frauke Haasemann. On his return to the U.S. further studies were pursued at Northwestern University under the eminent Czech organist Karel Paukert. After completing a Masters in Performance and a Doctorate in Church Music, he took positions at the Universities of Vermont, Middle Tennessee, Central Florida, George Washington University, and Washington Bible College as both Head of the Organ Department and Director of Choral Activities. He is actively involved in regular tours with Judson Choirs.
Interests, Expertise, and Involvements
Dr. Voelker is an accomplished organ recitalist, having played many recitals in Michigan, Illinois, Washington DC (Kennedy Center), Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Vermont and Maryland. He has frequently been invited to Europe for organ tours (5 times), having played in Finland, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. His repertoire covers four centuries of organ literature, with a particular fondness for the French Romantic, German Baroque, and 20th Century. He has also served numerous churches as organ consultant for the purchase of a new instrument. Workshops in organ improvisation and choral literature are a specialty of his, (Tacoma, WA, Elmhurst, IL, and Orlando, FL).
He is presently the director of the Washington Kantorei, a professional chamber choir in northern Virginia.
Dr. Voelker has also done significant work on the baroque composers Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Schelle, editing works for performance by the Washington Kantorei with a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service. He has also studied orchestral conducting at the Summer Institute of Conducting at the University of South Carolina.
Honors and Awards
Dr. Voelker won the freshman piano competition, and the junior music major award at Central Michigan University.
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