Australian-born conductor Heather J. Buchanan, PhD, is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Montclair State University (MSU) where she conducts the Chorale (symphonic choir), University Singers, Vocal Accord (chamber choir), and Prima Voce (SSAA). Choirs under her direction have won critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction” “grace and precision,” “vibrant sound,” “eloquence”, and for singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” During her 22-year tenure, Montclair choirs have collaborated with a variety of renowned national and international performing artists and composers including Eric Whitacre, VOCES8, Rhiannon Giddens, Meredith Monk, Neeme Järvi, Jacques Lacombe, Xian Zhang, Nicholas McGegan, Patrick Duprè Quigley, and Richard Alston Dance Company (UK), with Jake Runestad in April 2025. Her numerous mainstage orchestral collaborations with the New Jersey Symphony (NJS) include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mahler Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azbakan, and Howard Shore’s Academy Award winning The Lord of the Rings Symphony, with Handel’s Messiah annually since December 2014. In June 2023, the NJS honored her 20-year relationship with the orchestra at the New Millenium Gala, the culminating event of their Centennial Season. Dr. Buchanan’s choirs have also sung on commercially produced recordings with Meredith Monk (Songs of Ascension) and the NJS (Carmina Burana & Verdi Requiem), and in March 2020 the University Singers released their own professionally recorded CD I sing because… which is also available for digital download on Spotify and iTunes.
Dr. Buchanan holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Australia), Westminster Choir College of Rider University (U.S.), and the University of New England (Australia). A licensed Body Mapping Educator since 2002, she specializes in the teaching of this neuro-anatomical educational technique that trains musicians to attain freedom of expression through effective movement. A vibrant teacher, dynamic performer, and passionate musicians’ health advocate, Dr. Buchanan is in demand as a guest conductor, somatic educator, and choral clinician in the U.S. and abroad. Her 30-day 2023 choral tour hosted by the Australian National Choral Association was a comprehensive educational and artistic undertaking involving dozens of choirs and hundreds of choristers from all ages, amateur to professional, participating in clinics, festival choirs, rehearsals, and workshops across the nation. In January 2026, she returns to Melbourne, Australia for a third return invitation to headline the Australian Choral Conductor’s Education and Training summer school. In March 2025 she conducted the Masterwork Festival Chorus and New York City Chamber Orchestra in the Carnegie Hall premiere performance of Dan Forrest’s the breath of life for Manhattan Concert Productions’ 25th Anniversary Season.
Â
