biography

Gary Seighman is in frequent demand as a conductor, clinician, and singer in the Washington, DC area. Holding music degrees from Westminster Choir College and the University of Oklahoma, he is in his third year in the choral conducting doctoral program at the University of Maryland. He currently serves on the board of the Maryland/DC Choral Director’s Association as the chair of Youth and Student Activities and is editor of the state newsletter. As a researcher, Mr. Seighman has published various articles and has presented work for the College Music Society and American Choral Directors National Convention.

Between 2000 and 2004, Mr. Seighman served as Director of Vocal Music at Cranford High School in NJ where he led an award-winning choral program that performed three times at Carnegie Hall, in front of a delegation at the United Nations, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As advocates for new music, the Cranford High School Choirs commissioned several world premieres by composers throughout the East Coast.

As a tenor soloist, Mr. Seighman has appeared with numerous ensembles throughout the northeast, southwest, and Canada. Recent solo performances include Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach’s St. John Passion and Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah. He has sung with the Berkshire Opera Company, Brightmusic Chamber Series, SpoletoUSA Festival, and the Washington Bach Consort. Mr. Seighman has recently been appointed as Choirmaster at Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes in Washington, DC where he conducts a highly reputable choral program distinguished for its repertoire which includes polyphonic settings of the Mass, plainchant, along with motets and anthems all within the context of the liturgy for which they were composed.

Professional memberships include the American Choral Directors Association, the American Musicological Society, and the National Music Honor Society. He and his wife, Jennifer, happily reside in downtown Washington, D.C.