Shane Lynch is a noted conductor, composer, and music educator who will assume the duties of Director of Choral Activities at Washington and Lee University in 2009. He has studied under some of the greatest master conductors in America, including Dr. René Clausen. Dr. Lynch is a sought-after clinician, having worked with honor choirs in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Washington and Wisconsin. Quite interested in musical scholarship, some of his recent research includes trends of Neo-Impressionism in modern American choral music, the a cappella Psalm settings of Mendelssohn, practical Korean editions for American choral performance, the Venetian-style choral music of Heinrich Schütz, and choral traditions, ideologies, and schools of thought in 20th-century America. Large-scale conducting work has included performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Holst’s Sāvitri, and Rutter’s Gloria. Dr. Lynch has led choirs on several national tours and in 2005 led the Monmouth Chorale on its first tour of Scotland.

Prior to his appointment at Washington and Lee, Dr. Lynch served as Visiting Director of Choral Activities at Monmouth College (Illinois), Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin—Barron, and Director of Choirs at Aims Community College (Colorado). He has also been active as a Director of Music at several different churches in Montana, Colorado and Washington.

Dr. Lynch has received numerous awards as an educator, including the 2005 Junior Faculty Member of the Year at Monmouth College, the 2003 UW-Barron Oustanding Faculty Service Award, and a 2000 Outstanding Faculty Member Award from Aims Community College. An active composer interested in a wide variety of compositional styles and mediums, he has compositions ranging from art song to large-scale choral/orchestral work that are published exclusively through Sound Music Publications. Dr. Lynch has studied voice with noted baritone Peter Halvorsen, and has performed as a soloist in recital and in stage works. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, woodworking, curling, and spending time with his wife, Lacey, and his children, Brendan and Abigail.

Shane Lynch graduated from Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota), with degrees in music and physics, received the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington.