Renata Berlin

At Davidson, I have the pleasure of leading our three choral ensembles (Davidson Chorale, Davidson Chamber Singers, and Choral Arts Society Davidson) as we enter their 136th season. I believe the collegiate choral singer should explore the full and growing breadth of choral literature in an environment that challenges the mind and ear, and cultivates lasting friendships and community through music. My commitment to music education extends beyond the college classroom: I direct the Youth Choir as part of the North Carolina Youth Orchestra, and regularly serve as a clinician and adjudicator. Across these roles, I am especially interested in how meaningful, high-quality musical experiences early in a singer’s life can foster artistry, confidence, curiosity, and a lasting sense of belonging.

Our programming at Davidson reflects that breadth, moving between major choral-orchestral works and intimate works for chorus, contemplative programs, music theater, interdisciplinary collaborations, new music, and repertoire drawn from many traditions and periods. Recent projects have included Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Bach’s Coffee Cantata, Verdi’s Requiem, and tours to Germany and Poland. I also developed the InChoir Series, which brings distinguished professional choral artists and ensembles into meaningful collaboration with Davidson students by working with directly with our students through rehearsal, conversation, and shared musicking. Through InChoir, our students have sung alongside Stile Antico (2024), KITKA (2025), American Spiritual Ensemble (2026), and Tenebrae (2027). 

I studied choral conducting and music education at DePauw University, the Eastman School of Music, and Boston University. My doctoral research examined the development of error detection skills in undergraduate music teacher preparation. I taught the choral arts in the music department at Princeton University (a fitting precursor to Davidson, as tigers are, after all, a type of wildcat). Uniquely, I spent four years living and working in Ethiopia and Tanzania. While there, I founded and directed the Ethiopian Peace Choir, an 80-voice ensemble and the first of its kind in the Horn of Africa, bringing singers from multiple ethnic and cultural communities together to promote unity while developing musical literacy. That work was twice recognized by U.S. Ambassadors through nominations for the U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad.