Australian born conductor Heather J. Buchanan is Director of Choral Activities at Montclair State University (MSU), Upper Montclair, NJ where she conducts the 144-voice Chorale and auditioned 48-voice University Singers. She is co-editor and compiler of the GIA choral series Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, (Vol. 2, 2007; Vol. 1, 2005), and has also published the DVD-Video Evoking Sound: Body Mapping & Gesture Fundamentals (2002 & 2004) and two choral octavos in the Evoking Sound Choral Series also by GIA. Prior to Montclair she was on the conducting faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she conducted Westminster Schola Cantorum and taught graduate and undergraduate choral conducting. A certified Andover Educator, Ms. Buchanan specializes in the teaching of Body Mapping and somatic pedagogy for choral musicians. She is also a certified Johrei Reiki Practitioner. Ms. Buchanan is a Ph.D. Candidate with the University of New England (Australia) researching the impact of Body Mapping on student musicians. From 2000-04 she was Artistic Director and Conductor of the Greater South Jersey Chorus during which time she conducted the 70-voice full chorus and 30-voice Chamber Choir in a variety of concerts and community events, and recorded their first commercial CD Tis the Season! She also served as chair for Repertoire & Standards for Youth & Student Activities for the New Jersey Chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association (2001-2005). Born in Brisbane, Australia, Ms. Buchanan earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Australia) and a Master of Music degree with distinction from Westminster with a double major in choral conducting and music education.

A vibrant musician and dynamic pedagogue, choirs under Ms. Buchanan’s direction have won critical acclaim for their “impeccable dynamics and diction,” “vibrant sound,” and singing with “heartfelt conviction” and the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” Recent performance highlights include conducting the 2007 Dvořák Festival in Prague and Vienna, a 10-day European tour culminating in a performance at the Ferenc Liszt Zeneakadémia in Budapest, conducting the World Premiere performance of Madison’s Descent by celebrated Irish composer Mícheál ÓSúílleabháin, and conducting the inaugural Australian National Seniors Choral Festival in Newcastle, Australia. In October 2006 the MSU Chorale sang three magnificent performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Maestro Neeme Järvi and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and in December 2006 the University Singers performed with Meredith Monk and Company in an historic collaboration with this renowned composer-artist.

Ms. Buchanan is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor, and upcoming season highlights include the San Francisco Choral Festival (May 2008); University Singers’ Russian Tour (May 2008), part of a bi-lateral exchange in honor of the university’s Centennial Celebrations and featuring a collaboration with the renowned Chamber Choir of the Moscow Conservatory. In July 2008 she will return to Sydney, Australia to conduct the 2nd Biennial Australian National Seniors Choral Festival, and in November 2008 the MSU Chorale and Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir will collaborate with the NJSO under the baton of Jacques LaCombe for three performances of Carmina Burana.

A recipient of a prestigious Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship (1996-97), Ms Buchanan is a twice honored Paul Harris Fellow (1997 & 2003) and received a Rotary Foundation Education Award in 1998. She is a member of Phi Beta Delta, the national honor society for international and U.S. students; a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society; an Honorary Member of the Delta Delta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota; and a member of the academic honor society Phi Kappa Phi. She resides in Princeton Junction, New Jersey with her husband Peter and daughter Paige.