MUSIC STAFF

Robert Ren¨¦ Galv¨¢n, Music Director, was born in San Antonio, Texas. At present, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Bronx Concert Singers and Professor of Conducting & Choral Studies at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music in New York City where he trains young conductors and directs the conservatory chorale. For four seasons he served as conductor of the Springfield Symphony Chorus in Massachusetts and was Coordinator of Performing Arts at Manhattan College and Music Director/Conductor of the Manhattan College Singers in New York City. While at the college, he also formed the Manhattan Sinfonia, an orchestra of young professionals which he still directs.

Galv¨¢n earned a M.M. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Advanced studies in conducting were undertaken at the University of Texas where he served as conductor of the University Chorus and Longhorn Singers for which he received the Texas Excellence in Teaching Award. During his time in Texas Galv¨¢n was the conductor of the Austin Philharmonic, associate conductor of the Austin Choral Union, principal guest conductor of the Austin Choral Artists and director of the Choir of the First Unitarian Church of Austin. He received his B.M. from Southwest Texas State University where he studied conducting, voice, piano and cello. During his studies there he presented numerous recitals by assembling his own ensembles and also delivered multi-media lectures on the music of Gustav Mahler. He made his formal debut at the Rome Festival in Italy before matriculating.

As a guest, Mr. Galv¨¢n conducted the Vancouver Chamber Choir in a symposium entitled The Art of the Hand. More recently, he conducted the Pacific Chorale and members of the Pacific Symphony at the California Conducting Symposium. He also appears as arranger and conductor on a CD released in November 1999 entitled Jam & Spice, the Songs of Kurt Weill. Robert has maintained a private voice studio for the past fifteen years and some of his students have gone on to study at the Mannes School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the Eastman School of Music and the opera program at Graz, Austria. An accomplished poet, Galv¨¢n's collection of poems is entitled Meteors.

Joyce Smith, Accompanist, is a member of the voice faculty at The Third Street Music School Settlement and is staff accompanist for the Voice Department. She is the organist at St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Bronx and maintains a private voice and piano studio in the Bronx. Ms. Smith is also the rehearsal accompanist for Bronx Concert Singers.