Did you know?

In the fifty+ years of performing we have been led by 15 different conductors.

Fall 1970 ~ Charles Burnsworth

Spring 1971 ~ Thurston Dox

Fall 1971-spring 1977 ~ Charles Burnsworth

Spring 1978 ~  Robert Barstow

Fall 1978 ~ Charles Schneider

Spring 1979 ~William Riley

Fall 1979 -Spring 1992  ~ Thurston Dox

Fall 1992  ~ David Agard

Spring 1993  ~ Robert Barstow

Fall 1993 ~ Donald Mealy

Spring 1994 ~ Steven Svengrowski

Fall 1994-Fall 1997  ~ Donald Mealy

Spring 1998-Fall 2003  ~ Jirka Kratochvil

Fall 2003-Spring 2004 ~ Alejandro Rutty

Fall 2004-Fall 2007  ~ Jirka Kratochvil

Spring 2007  ~  Mary Mayo

Fall 2008-Spring 2011 ~ Timothy Newton

Fall 2011 – Spring 2012 ~ G. Roberts Kolb

Fall 2012 – Fall 2013 ~ Timothy Newton

Spring 2014-Spring 2016 ~ Colin Armstrong

Fall 2016-present ~  G. Roberts Kolb

About G. Roberts Kolb, Artistic Director and Conductor

G. Roberts Kolb is the Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professor of Music and Director of Choral Music at Hamilton College, where he is a past holder of the Christian A. Johnson “Excellence in Teaching” Chair. A graduate of Occidental College, his postgraduate education includes a year of study at the School of Theology at claremont, California, a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the California State University at Fullerton, and a doctorate in Choral Music from the University of Illinois.

Dr. Kolb is a contributing author to Up Front! Becoming the Complete Choral Conductor (E. C. Schirmer) and Five Centuries of Choral Music (Pendragon Press).

Before coming to Hamilton College in 1981, Dr. Kolb taught at Smith College, where he conducted the Smith Choirs and Glee Club. He is past musical director of both the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble and the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble (Ithaca, N.Y.), and is currently director of music at the Stone Presbyterian Church in Clinton, N.Y.

Also active in the musical theatre world, Dr Kolb has directed Gilbert and Sullivan productions for the Earlville Opera House, served as musical director for the Hartford Players Youth Theatre, and been musical director for several Summerstage productions at the Rome Capitol Theatre, as well as directing annual musical theatre productions of the Hamilton College Choir. His onstage roles have included Cervantes/Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha), Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd), both The Lord Chancellor and Earl Tolloller (Iolanthe), The Cowardly Lion (The Wizard of Oz), Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady), Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Guys and Dolls), Captain Hook (Peter Pan), both Nanki-Poo and Ko-Ko (The Mikado), and Capt. Fitzbattleaxe (Utopia Limited).

Listen to  Rob’s interview with Bill Snyder on WSKG