Biography
Photo Credit: Danielle Tocker Photography
Dr. Melissa Morgan is a choral conductor, educator, speaker, vocalist, and pianist from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. She serves as the Department Head of Music and Director of Choral Activities in the department of Media, Arts, and Performance at the University of Regina. Her responsibilities include conducting the auditioned, Chamber Singers, and the non-auditioned Concert Choir in addition to teaching courses in choral conducting, and serving on several university committees. In fall of 2022, Dr. Morgan became the music director for the Campion College Musica Sacra music series. An active conductor, she is frequently asked to serve as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor with high school, children’s choirs, and church choirs throughout North America.
Scholarly contributions of Dr. Morgan have appeared in the American Choral Directors Association publication, The Choral Journal, and the Canadian Music Educators Association Journal. Her publications also include articles in the peer-reviewed Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Vol. 5, published by GIA Publications Inc. Currently, Dr. Morgan is focussing her writing efforts on an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook that focuses on singing for emerging vocalist and actors. Dr. Morgan is also working on writing contributions for a new book which focuses on women composers that will be published by GIA Publications Inc. Both of these publications will be released in the summer of 2024.
As a highly active scholar, Dr. Morgan presents her research at local, national, and international events and on a variety of topics ranging from Prairie Choral Music, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Women in leadership roles, Appropriation vs Appreciation, and BIPOC Representation in the vocal world, to name a few. She has presented at the Choral Canada national conference, Podium, and at the Association of American Choral Directors national conference. In addition, her choirs have received invitations to perform on the stage of Lincoln Centre, and at events including, the Association of Canadian Choral Communities, Podium Conference, and the Vox Anima Choral event, I Dream a World: A Celebration of Music by Black American Composers at Cadogan Hall in London England.
Dr. Morgan holds a Doctorate of Music Performance in Choral Conducting from the University of Toronto, a Master of Music Performance in Choral Conducting from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Regina. She is also an Associate of the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) in piano, voice, and flute.
In The Media
Regina Choir Highlights work of Prairie Composers on New CD
Eight of the tracks were written by Saskatchewan composers. The remaining five tracks were written by composers from Alberta and Manitoba.
U of Regina Choir shares light and hope in pandemic-inspired virtual performance
The Choir Girl:
An Interview with
Melissa Morgan
The Chorus Effect: Episode 6
An Interview with
Melissa Morgan
