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 Erin
Colwitz received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University
of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1998. She later completed the Master of Music
and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California
in Choral music. Dr. Colwitz studied conducting with William Dehning, David
Wilson, Magen Solomon, and Claire McCoy. At USC, she was awarded a full
teaching assistantship as conductor of the Thornton Oriana Choir, the
University’s only women’s chorus, a post she held from 2003-2006. At USC,
she also sang with William Dehning and the award-winning Thornton Chamber
Choir touring France and Belgium in 2003 and East Asia in 2006.In Minnesota, Dr. Colwitz was a full-time vocal and general music teacher at Centennial Middle School. There she conducted four choirs, the school’s honor choir and swing choir, in addition to teaching classroom music. As a professional singer, Dr. Colwitz was contracted to sing with the Dale Warland Singers in 1999. As part of this extraordinary ensemble, she performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, and Hugh Wolff. The DWS were nominated for a Grammy for their recording of Dominick Argento pieces; Dr. Colwitz’s doctoral treatise is a critical analysis of Argento’s, A Toccata of Galuppi’s, a twelve-tone work found on that recording. In Los Angeles, Dr. Colwitz was a member of the choral music faculty at California State University, Fullerton where she conducted the women’s choir and taught music education courses. She served as the Director of Music at St. Victor Catholic Church in West Hollywood from 2003-2008 where she conducted the church choir and guest orchestra in weekly services, feast day services, and concerts such as the Duruflé Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. Dr. Colwitz sang with John Alexander and the Pacific Chorale in Santa Ana, Califoria. Additionally, she was privileged to sing with the Pacific Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batons of Carl St. Clair, Giancarlo Guerrero, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Gustavo Dudamel. Dr. Colwitz is currently the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She conducts the Chamber Choir and Concert Choir, teaches private voice lessons, and choral education methods classes. Dr. Colwitz serves frequently as contest adjudicator and choral clinician throughout Alabama. She is a member of MENC, the Alabama Vocal Association, the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), and Pi Kappa Lambda. Dr. Colwitz lives in Jones Valley with her husband, William Dehning, accomplished conductor, Emeritus Professor, and published author, and their very silly golden retriever, Sam. Email: erin.colwitz@uah.edu |