David Dickau
Encyclopedia
David Dickau is a choral conductor and composer residing in Mankato, Minnesota
where he has served as Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University
, Mankato since 1991. As a part of his duties, Dr. Dickau conducts the Concert Choir
and Chamber Singers and teaches conducting and composition. He recently received the Distinguished Faculty Scholar award from his university.
David Dickau has been an active member of the American Choral Directors Association
(ACDA), serving as a national Repertoire and Standards Chair from 1987 to 1991. He has appeared as a clinician at ACDA national and regional conventions and has conducted several regional festivals. He also served a term as President of ACDA of Minnesota. Dr. Dickau has performed at four national ACDA conventions. His choirs have performed at regional conventions in Omaha and Minneapolis and at a national convention at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Dr. Dickau’s published compositions appear in a number of catalogues. He has filled commissions for choral festivals, colleges and universities, community choirs, churches, and schools. Significant commissions have included “Dresden Canticles,” composed in honor of the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany and “View from the Air” commissioned by the Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation in honor of the seventieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic trans-Atlantic flight.
Dr. Dickau appears frequently around the country as a clinician and guest conductor. In addition to guest conducting, his areas of expertise include teaching conducting, teaching composing and arranging, teaching choral techniques, and exploring the roles of the composer and the conductor. On request, he frequently discusses his compositions. In recent years, he has appeared as a guest conductor or clinician in New York, Arkansas, California, Nevada, Iowa, New Mexico, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, and Alaska.
Dr. Dickau has completed over thirty commissions for schools, colleges and universities, churches, community ensembles, and foundations, tailoring each piece to the specific needs of a particular ensemble.
The most recent include:
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
where he has served as Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
, Mankato since 1991. As a part of his duties, Dr. Dickau conducts the Concert Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and Chamber Singers and teaches conducting and composition. He recently received the Distinguished Faculty Scholar award from his university.
Biography
Dr. Dickau holds advanced degrees in Choral Music from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA.) He has taught choral music on both the high school and college levels and has conducted community and church choirs. He also served for thirteen years as music director of Magnum Chorum, a Twin Cities-based chamber choir.David Dickau has been an active member of the American Choral Directors Association
American Choral Directors Association
The American Choral Directors Association , headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music...
(ACDA), serving as a national Repertoire and Standards Chair from 1987 to 1991. He has appeared as a clinician at ACDA national and regional conventions and has conducted several regional festivals. He also served a term as President of ACDA of Minnesota. Dr. Dickau has performed at four national ACDA conventions. His choirs have performed at regional conventions in Omaha and Minneapolis and at a national convention at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Dr. Dickau’s published compositions appear in a number of catalogues. He has filled commissions for choral festivals, colleges and universities, community choirs, churches, and schools. Significant commissions have included “Dresden Canticles,” composed in honor of the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany and “View from the Air” commissioned by the Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation in honor of the seventieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic trans-Atlantic flight.
Dr. Dickau appears frequently around the country as a clinician and guest conductor. In addition to guest conducting, his areas of expertise include teaching conducting, teaching composing and arranging, teaching choral techniques, and exploring the roles of the composer and the conductor. On request, he frequently discusses his compositions. In recent years, he has appeared as a guest conductor or clinician in New York, Arkansas, California, Nevada, Iowa, New Mexico, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, and Alaska.
Compositions
(complete list is available at http://mavdisk.mnsu.edu/dickau/Compositions.html)- "Come, O Come, My Life's Delight" words by Thomas CampionThomas CampionThomas Campion was an English composer, poet and physician. He wrote over a hundred lute songs; masques for dancing, and an authoritative technical treatise on music.-Life:...
From the suite: Of Life and Love - "Echo" words by Christina RossettiChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
From the suite: Of Life and Love - "in time of daffodils" words by E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
From the suite: Of Life and Love - "Go Lovely Rose" words by Edmund WallerEdmund WallerEdmund Waller, FRS was an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1679.- Early life :...
- "If Music Be the Food of Love" words by Henry Heveningham
- "Psalm of Praise"
- "To Musique" words by Robert HerrickRobert Herrick (poet)Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....
- "Stars I Shall Find" words by Sara TeasdaleSara TeasdaleSara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
- "O My Luve's Like A Red, Red, Rose" by Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
- "Footprints," words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, commissioned for Dr. J. Richard Dewey, Principal of Eastview High School 1997-2007
- "Heart, We Will Forget Him" Text by Emily Dickinson, commissioned by the 2000-2001 Lyons Township High School Treble Choir
- "I carry your heart with me" e.e. cummings
Commissions
(complete list is available at http://mavdisk.mnsu.edu/dickau/Commissions.html)Dr. Dickau has completed over thirty commissions for schools, colleges and universities, churches, community ensembles, and foundations, tailoring each piece to the specific needs of a particular ensemble.
The most recent include:
- Atherton Family (2008) -- i carry your heart (Walton 2009)
- Meade County High School (2007) -- Silent Noon (SBMP fall 2008)
- Eastview High School (2007) -- Footprints (SBMP 2008)
- Apple Valley High School (2007) -- Come Live With Me and Be My Love (Walton 2009)
- Musicorum (2007) -- Chickadee (unpublished)
- New Mexico State University (2007) -- Two Blake Songs for Chorus, Flute, and Piano: Piping Down the Valleys Wild (SBMP 2007); Laughing Song (SBMP 2007)
Companies Published Through
- Walton Music http://www.waltonmusic.com/
- Pavane Publishing http://www.pavanepublishing.com/
- Gentry Publications http://www.halleonard.com/
- Santa Barbara Music Publishinghttp://www.sbmp.com/
- Colla Voce Music, Inc.http://www.collavoce.com/
- Neil A. Kjos Music Companyhttp://www.kjos.com/
- Shawnee Press, Inc.http://www.shawneepress.com/
External links
- http://mavdisk.mnsu.edu/dickau/index.html
- http://www.waltonmusic.com/CompBios/ddbio.php
- http://www.pavanepublishing.com/Site/29/