Brad Holmes joins the Baylor University choral faculty after extensive tenures at Luther College and Millikin University. He conducts the Baylor A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers and teaches graduate conducting. Dr. Holmes received the M.M. degree in conducting from the University of New Mexico and the D.M.A. degree in choral music from Arizona State University.
His 31-year appointment at Millikin was marked by an expansion of the choral program to a multi-tiered structure of choirs and vocal ensembles led by a nationally recognized choral staff. Importantly, the program fostered extensive concert development on the local level including the growth of their annual Vespers at Millikin, now drawing 6500 patrons annually.
An ambitious touring schedule has taken choirs under Dr. Holmes’ direction to every state but Alaska and to thirty-six countries. During their annual two-week tours, the Millikin University Choir became a familiar presence in concert series across the United States. Additionally, seven coveted invitations to perform before conferences of the American Choral Directors Association brought national attention to the choir’s approach to tonal variety and programing.
A Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, Dr. Holmes has returned to the UK for multiple guest-conducting engagements. Other international invitations have taken him to Continental Europe, China, Korea and Japan. Domestically, he has led more than three-hundred choir festivals including twenty-nine All-State choirs, regional ACDA honor choirs and church music clinics. He owns five Carnegie Hall conducting appearances.