Andrew Megill is recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of his generation, known for his passionate artistry and unusually wide-ranging repertoire, extending from early music to newly-composed works.  Since his appointment as Music Director of The Masterwork Chorus in 2000, he has led Masterwork in dozens of concerts, including Bach’s B Minor Mass, Haydn’s Creation and Nelsonmesse, Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Solemn Vespers, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahms Requiem, Schicksalslied and Alto Rhapsody, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem and Mass, as well as Lou Harrison’s Mass to St. Anthony, Hindemith’s Apparebit Repentina Dies, and Stephen Paulus’ Visions of Hildegar, as well as annual performances of Handel’s Messiah in Carnegie Hall and other major venues.

Mr. Megill has been on the faculty of Westminster Choir College of Rider University for twenty years, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and performance practice and conducts Westminster Kantorei, a chamber choir specializing in early and contemporary repertoire. 

Mr. Megill also leads two of North America’s finest professional choirs:  the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale and the Chorus of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.  Mr. Megill has collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the American Composers’ Orchestra, American Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, for conductors such as Leon Botstein, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Joseph Flummerfelt, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Alan Gilbert, Jane Glover, Paul Goodwin, Neeme Järvi, Ton Koopman, Zdenek Macal, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Stefan Parkman, Julius Rudel, Masaaki Suzuki, Emmanuel Villaume and Bruno Weil.   

Mr. Megill is particularly admired for his performances of Baroque repertoire.  He is Artistic Director of Fuma Sacra, recognized as “one of America’s leading ensembles specializing in Renaissance and Baroque vocal music” whose performances “leave the audience gasping in amazement” (Classical New Jersey).  Mr. Megill has led Bach festivals at Westminster Choir College and in Dublin, Ireland and has guest-conducted Bach works for Emmanuel Church in Boston.  He has collaborated with many leading Baroque specialists, including Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, John Holloway, Nancy Wilson and Julianne Baird, and period-instrument ensembles such as the Rebel Baroque Orchestra, Trinity (Wall Street) Baroque Orchestra, Sinfonia New York, Piffaro, Brandywine Baroque, and Tempesta di Mare.

Previous appointments include Interim Choirmaster at Trinity Church (Wall Street) and Chorusmaster for the Spoleto Festival USA, where for sixteen years he prepared the Westminster Choir for performances of opera (including Der Rosenkavalier with Renata Scotto).  His work there was praised for producing “the finest opera chorus in the world” (Charleston Post and Courier). Mr. Megill has guest-conducted and taught at the Juilliard Opera Center, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. 

Mr. Megill’s work has been broadcast by PRI and the BBC and can be heard on a number of recordings, including Kurt Weill’s Die Bürgschaft, Jon Magnussen’s Psalm on Albany, Haydn Masses for Naxos, and a forthcoming disc of works by Caleb Burhans.  He has also collaborated with folk singer Judy Collins and film director Ridley Scott, as well as the Mark Morris Dance Company.

Photo by r.r.Jones.