Standing on Their Shoulders: Words from the Wise
By Jennifer Lowry

Professor David Weiller was interviewed by Nevada ACDA State President Jennifer Lowry, an 18-year middle school director in Clark County. She sang under his direction in the Las Vegas Master Singers.

How long have you been a member of ACDA?
I joined ACDA, I believe, in 1980 when I was in graduate school at the University of Illinois. My graduate professor was Dr. Harold Decker, a founding member of ACDA. This meant all the graduate students automatically joined ACDA, and we all went to the national conference in the spring of 1981 in New Orleans. My first memory of that national conference was the night before, when we were rehearsing the Bach Saint Matthew Passion with Dr. Decker. Afterwards, our group of graduate students drove through the night from Champaign, Illinois, to New Orleans to get to the conference before it started at 9:00 AM the following morning!

And what was your main area of conducting?
I spent my entire career in university choral conducting. I also worked with music education in support and preparation of young teachers.

Who or what inspired you to become a choral director?
Oh, I knew from an early age. I decided in kindergarten that I was going to become a teacher. I started piano lessons when I was 9 and started accompanying choirs in 6th grade. Then I accompanied every year at whatever school I went to. By 8th grade, I knew I was going to be a music teacher. I knew I was going to be a choir director by the time I was in high school, really. My high school choir teacher was James A. Young, who influenced hundreds and many generations of young people from all over the country. He taught for about 40 years, and I had him near the end of his career in Southern California. We sang college-level repertoire all the time. I was exposed to so much quality repertoire as a high school student—it was amazing. My undergraduate professor at Occidental College was Thomas Somerville. Both my high school choir teacher and my undergraduate university choral professor changed my life, and that became my focus.

What was one moment of magic—or at least one moment—that you experienced as it relates to your life as a choral director?
Ohh, that’s a hard one… Someone else asked me that not long ago, and at the time I said I had difficulty thinking of just one moment. My most favorite moments were often centered around our Home Concert near the end of the year after returning home from touring. After living with and polishing our repertoire to such a fine level that everyone was truly united in purpose, voice, and communication of the music, we could express this music with all the love in our hearts to the audience. There were some truly transcending musical experiences throughout the years in our Home Concerts. Then, included in the Home Concert, was singing a different composer’s setting of the poem “Go Lovely Rose” every year.

How did you balance family and home life with your career?
That was always a challenge for me because I remain single and had lots of time to devote to my teaching and career. Balance was an issue because I would periodically go through spells of burnout, then would have to pull back for a little while, and dive right back into the deep end. I suppose, for me, I kept balance by leaving town to conduct musical theater in the summer. I mean, it was work, but it was so different—conducting musicals and light opera—it was a great, friendly routine. I spent many summers attending workshops and taking classes all over the country. That, you know, kept me fresh and invigorated. But finding balance was hard, and I’m just now discovering that in retirement.

Do you have any advice for choral directors beginning their careers?
Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace and time to learn and grow. Continue learning, asking questions, and seeking support, help, and guidance. Remember that you’re there to share the love of music with young people. Don’t lose sight of the joy of teaching in the midst of all the difficulties that we all go through—whether it’s the politics of administration or students who aren’t always focused. You are the role model. You are the adult. You are the parent, the inspiration in the room. You can make a difference in someone’s life without even knowing it. In that sense, it’s not about you—it’s about the students you see before you.

Do you have a favorite composer or particular piece of music you have conducted?
While I do not have just one, I find joy in so many of the pieces I have conducted! Baroque and Renaissance music are among my favorites. There are so many current composers that are phenomenal, but we seem to be forgetting where the music came from. I spoke with my mentor teacher, the person who inspired me to become a choir teacher, when I was selecting repertoire for a performance at the National Conference in Kansas City. She made the same type of comment. She was glad I picked Venga Nel Nostro Coro (arr. Jill Gallina), published more than 20 years ago. So often, we are only hearing music composed in the last 10–15 years at conferences. There is amazing music being composed now, and it should absolutely be performed, but we shouldn’t forget the music that first helped us fall in love with music.

What words of wisdom do you have for our Western Region membership reading this interview?
Be more embracing, accepting, and welcoming of everyone in your choral community—in your town, your city, your state, and throughout your region. It’s not about your program. It’s about the music, the singers. Reach out to everyone. So many people make it about themselves and how great their program is. It isn’t about that. It’s about the singers. It’s about the music. Be kind to everyone.

If we spoke to your singers, what do you hope they would say about you?
I would hope they would talk about my love of the music and my love of my students. Everything comes from love.

(Jennifer: As somebody who sang in one of your choirs briefly, I know this to be true. You are so kind and so willing to share with your singers. Your love—of the music, of us as humans—is incredibly transparent. You are a wonderful person who is always willing to serve the music, the community, and your singers.)

David, responding: Thank you so much for saying that and for your kind words. I never would have thought when I started that some of my best friends would be people I met when they were 18 or 19 years old in my choirs. It has been such a joy to make lifelong friends through music.

David Weiller celebrated 37 years on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty, where he served as co-director of choral studies and associate director of the UNLV School of Music. Under his leadership, the UNLV Chamber Chorale performed at Western Region ACDA and NAfME conferences. He holds degrees from Occidental College in Los Angeles and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. David was the artistic director and conductor of the Las Vegas Master Singers, the chorus-in-residence for the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He has conducted over sixty stage productions at the university and served as a principal conductor for the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where he conducts the Gilbert & Sullivan canon, Viennese and early American operettas, and Broadway classics. David is a past recipient of the UNLV William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching, the UNLV Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Teacher of the Year award in the College of Fine Arts. His teaching mentors include James A. Young, Drinda Frenzel, Thomas Somerville, Harold Decker, Dennis Shrock, and Rodney Eichenberger.