Photo by Jeff Gallo
Bio
Sarah Frook Gallo is the Interim Associate Director of Choirs at the University of Georgia, where she conducts the University Chorus, UGA Choral Project, Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs, and teaches courses in conducting. Prior to her time at UGA, she conducted the William & Mary Women’s Chorus (now the Barksdale Treble Chorus), taught courses in music theory and aural skills, and served as Artistic Director of the Virginia Choral Society, a 100-member community choir in Newport News, VA. She also held teaching positions as the conductor of the Christopher Newport University Men’s Chorus, and as professor of voice at the University of Richmond. She is an experienced K-12 educator and spent three years as the director of music and choirs at St. Catherine’s Middle School.
She enjoys guest conducting honor choruses and workshops across the country and aims to foster intentional musical communities in all aspects of her work. Her research interests include the music of 17th and 18th century Mexico City, incorporating Dalcroze Eurhythmics into the conducting classroom, and the experience of adult amateur singers in community choruses. Her choirs have commissioned and premiered works by Tawnie Olson, Lori Laitman, and Ysaÿe Barnwell.
In her time as a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Fellowship, and was selected for several masterclasses and conducting programs, including the National Collegiate Choral Organization Graduate Fellowship, Baylor International Choral Conducting Masterclass, the Wintergreen Music Academy Conductor’s Summit, and as a conductor in the 2020 ACDA Southern Graduate Conducting Masterclass.
She is a DMA Candidate in Choral Conducting at the University of Georgia, earned her MM in Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music and her undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary with a concentration in piano, voice, and harpsichord. Her conducting teachers include Daniel Bara, J.D. Burnett, William Weinert, Jamie Bartlett, Bradley Lubman, Simon Carrington, and Joseph Flummerfelt. She lives in Georgia with her spouse, Jeff, and their dog, Moira Rose.