Faculty

Tony Thornton is an award-winning educator, conductor, and author whose work has distinguished him as a dynamic force in the choral field across the United States and internationally. He has collaborated with more than 400 mixed, treble, and tenor/bass choruses in public and private schools, universities, churches, community ensembles, and professional organizations throughout North America, as well as in Japan and across Europe. Dr. Thornton currently serves as Artistic Director of the Sarteano Choral Workshop in Italy and the Choral Planet Festival Singers program in Europe, as well as Chorus Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus, where he holds the Tom Zimmerman Endowed Chair.

He has led choruses on fifteen international tours, performing in many of the world’s most renowned venues, including St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the Salzburg Dom, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montréal, Lobkowicz Palace in Prague, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carl Orff Saal in Munich, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. His choruses have also appeared in leading U.S. venues, including Carnegie Hall, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and Symphony Hall in Boston.

Dr. Thornton prepared choruses for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Jaap van Zweden, and major choral-orchestral masterworks for collaborations with other distinguished conductors such as Robert Shaw, Simon Carrington, Kevin Rhodes, and Andrew Megill. In a New York Times review of Bach’s Mass in B minor, critic James R. Oestreich praised the chorus prepared by Thornton as “unquestionably the star” of the two performances.

A seasoned performer, Thornton began his career as a tenor soloist, appearing throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He was a member of the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir, performing at major international festivals, including the Spoleto Festival in both Italy and the United States. Thornton has appeared on recordings conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Riccardo Muti, Robert Shaw, Claudio Abbado, and Zubin Mehta. He performed as a member of the Grammy Award-winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers for six years.

In addition to his conducting and performance career, Thornton is a respected author and thought leader in the choral field. He is the author of The Choral Singer’s Survival Guide and the forthcoming Choral Singing for Life, and he established a choral series bearing his name with Colla Voce Music. His academic career includes appointments as Professor and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Professor and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies and the Doug and Nickie Burns Endowed Chair in Choral Music at Oklahoma State University. He is the Founding Artistic Director of the American Prize-winning Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble.

Dr. Thornton holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, Louisiana State University, and the University of Arizona, and is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He is Past President of the Massachusetts chapter of ACDA and served as Collegiate Repertoire and Resources Chair for ACDA Eastern.