Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt is Professor Emerita of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto where she held the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting and received the inaugural Teaching Excellence Award in 2013. From 2013 – 2018, she was also artistic director of Exultate Chamber Singers, a semi-professional ensemble in Toronto. Previously she taught in the U.S at the Ohio State University (1993 – 2010) and at the University of NC-Greensboro, after receiving her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her teaching experiences range from teaching public school to directing community ensembles and church choirs. In retirement, she has done several sabbatical replacements and university residencies, and remains active as a guest conductor and clinician.

A native Canadian, she has led her university choirs in performances at regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and at Podium, the national professional conference of Choral Canada. She has guest conducted honors choruses and festivals through the U.S. and Canada, including forty all-state choirs. She directed the National Youth Choir of Canada, and has conducted choral festivals internationally.

A prolific author, she has published numerous articles and book chapters, including contributions to Wisdom, Wit and Will: Women Choral Conductors on their Art (GIA Publications, 2009) and Conducting Successful Women’s Choirs (GIA, 2012).  She is co-editor of Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, v.5, (GIA, 2019), and a contributing author to Volume 4 of the same series.  Her book on the life and work of Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson, I Didn’t Want It To be Boring (Toronto: Prism Publishers) won Choral Canada’s award for the Outstanding Choral Publication in 2018. She is Editor of Choral Repertoire by Women Composers (GIA, 2025) that features 225 composers. In addition, she curates a choral octavo series for Hinshaw Music that features Canadian composers.

A Life Member of ACDA, Dr. Apfelstadt served as National President from 2007 – 2009 and as Interim Executive Director from 2020 – 2021. She has been honored with leadership awards from NC-ACDA, the Ohio Choral Directors Association, ACDA Central Region, ACDA Midwestern Region, and Choirs Ontario. NCCO named her an Honorary Life Member in 2025. She is also a former Board Member of Chorus America.