About The Erie Phil

• Annual Report
• Junior Philharmonic
  • Jr. Phil Auditions
  • Rehearsal Schedule
  • Events
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  • Becoming a Member
  • Conductor
  • Our History
• A Historical Timeline
• Directors and Governors
• Music Director
• Meet the Musicians
• Education

Conductor

D. Jason Bishop, conductor

D. Jason Bishop is a member of the faculty at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College where he serves as the Director of Choral Activities and Lecturer in Music and conducts both the Penn State Behrend Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. Praised as a passionate and efficient conductor of both choral and orchestral repertoire, Dr. Bishop is in frequent demand as a guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician. He has recently returned from a 2-week European tour with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City at the World Choir Games in Graz, Austria and the Rhapsody Children’s Choir Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. He currently serves on the board of the PA chapter of the American Choral Directors Association as Northwest Region Chair, as 2008 Student-Director Honor Choir Chair, and as Editor of the ACDA-PA choral journal, Polyphony. He assumed the position of chorus master at the Erie Philharmonic in August 2008.

Dr. Bishop holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music & Classical Languages from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN; a Master of Music degree in Conducting from Boston University; and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Oklahoma. His previous positions have included director of the choral program at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, Special Assistant and Consultant to the President at the Longy School of Music also in Cambridge, MA, and Director of Music and Artistic Director of the “Emerging Musicians” Concert Series at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Norman, OK.

In addition, Dr. Bishop has recently founded and serves as Artistic Director of the Young People’s Chorus of Erie. In residence at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College and in affiliation with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, YPC Erie is a regional youth choral program for ages 7-18 which aims to provide educational opportunities in music as well as to teach young people the value of diversity and multiculturalism.