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Lee Kesselman
Director of the New Classic Singers
Accomplished conductor and composer Lee Kesselman founded the New Classic Singers in 1982 and hasn't looked back since. Currently, as the group's Artistic Director, Lee works to put together and perform both original works and works by some of the greatest musicians and composers of all time. In addition to directing NCS, Lee is also the Director of Choral Activities and a music professor at the College of DuPage, where he has taught since 1981. Find out more about Lee in this month's Who's Who in Music interview…
EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree in Music (Piano & Composition) and Economics, Macalester College; Master's of Music in Choral Conducting, University of Southern California
FAMILY LIFE: My daughter Lindsay is an accomplished singer on her path to a career as a teacher and a performer. She is married to Chris Lees, a talented young orchestral conductor and they live (for now) in Michigan. My son Robin is studying string bass in California and hopes to make a career as a classical bassist. My 85 year-old mother still comes to most of my concerts from Milwaukee (my birthplace).
MUSICAL IDOLS: Leonard Bernstein & Johann Sebastian Bach
THE MOST REWARDING PART ABOUT YOUR JOB: Working with people who love to sing and living a life filled with music and the other arts.
MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE AS A CONDUCTOR: The major works are the most memorable. NCS has performed Bach's Mass in b minor & Passion According to St John, Mozart's Requiem, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem and Bernstein's MASS & Candide. These are profound works of art, with great beauty and the timeless expression of what it means to be human. NCS also has performed over 125 different programs, commissioned and premiered dozens of new works, hosted many composers, sung annual holiday concerts and collaborated with great artists like the Kronos Quartet and NEXUS. I'd have to say that EVERY concert is memorable, and many of the rehearsals, too!
HOBBIES: My life is overrun with the arts. I compose music of all kinds, with approximately 75 published works. I occasionally perform as a pianist, read a great deal, and write some poetry. I attend music, theatre, dance, films and frequent art museums and galleries. I would have to call myself a foodie, both in restaurants and entertaining people at home. I love to travel - I've been to about 25 countries on 5 continents so far and most of the states in the U.S.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I have produced annual Peace Concerts at COD since 2005-2006. I co-founded the Choral Music Experience Teacher Training Institute in 1986 and have taught other conductors in a half dozen countries over the past 25 years. For more information, visit www.newclassicsingers.org.
– Interviewed by Megan Baumgartner
