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The American choral conductor, composer and baritone, Gilbert Donohue, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Music Theory/Music History with honors from University of Notre Dameb in Indiana (2015-2019); and his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (2019-2021), under William Weinert.
While at Notre Dame, Gilbert Donohue gained valuable choral experience by singing with various campus ensembles, including Our Lady’s Consort, a sixteen-member student-led chamber choir of which he was a founding member. While studying conducting with Daniel Stowe, he also sang with and served as a student conductor for the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir, in which capacity he conducted the choir in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart as well as on tours to Florida and Spain. In the Fall of 2017, he served as Music Director for the Pasquerilla East Musical Company’s production of A New Brain.
In addition to his conducting pursuits, Gilbert Donohue is also an active composer. His Missa Brevis was recently selected for performance in the 2019 London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, where it was performed by the choirs of St. Pancras Church and Hampstead Parish Church. At Notre Dame his music was regularly performed by the Composers’ Consortium of Notre Dame, led by composer John Liberatore, and received performances by the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir. At Eastman, he participated as a conductor in Eastman School of Music: Bach Cantata Series (BWV 44, BWV 106).
As a baritone, Gilbert Donohue has participated in master-classes with artists such as Graham Johnson, Nathan Gunn, Martin Katz, and J.J. Penna, and studied voice with Stephen Lancaster. He has also appeared as the bass soloist for various concerts at Notre Dame, including most recently W.A. Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore.
Gilbert Donohue also maintains a scholarly interest in the academic side of music. In 2018 he was awarded a Summer Comprehensive Grant from the Notre Dame Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts to study the music of American ultramodernist composer John. J. Becker at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City. His research was then used for his senior thesis on Becker’s use of dissonant.
Gilbert Donohue as served as Music Director and Organist at St. Alban's Catholic Church - Ordinariate in Rochester, New York (August 2019-August 2021); Director of Liturgical Music at Providence College (since August 2021). |
