The Association of British Choral Directors’ 39th Annual Convention Features Dr. Christopher Kiver
Dr. Christopher Kiver, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Pennsylvania State University, is presenting music from the Fred Bock Publishing Group catalog at the 39th annual convention of the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD) in York, England. He’ll be showcasing works by renowned arrangers and composers like Dan Forrest, Stacey V. Gibbs, Sherry Blevins, Brandon Boyd, and Tracy Wong, offering attendees a chance to discover new repertoire and gain inspiration for their own choirs.
As a respected choral expert, Kiver brings a wealth of experience to the convention, having directed choirs that have performed at numerous state and regional conventions, collaborated with notable ensembles like Bang on a Can, and even appeared with the Rolling Stones. This unique weekend promises to be an enriching experience, with workshops, repertoire sessions, and networking opportunities tailored to choral leaders of all levels and experience.
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Christopher Kiver
Dr. Christopher Kiver is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Pennsylvania State University where he directs the Concert Choir and Glee Club, oversees the graduate choral conducting program, and teaches classes in choral conducting and choral literature. He founded and directed The Orpheus Singers and has appeared as guest conductor of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra and Altoona Symphony Orchestra.
Choirs under Kiver’s direction have performed at numerous state and
regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and National Association for Music Education (NAfME). With the Penn State Concert Choir, Kiver directed a performance of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields with renowned New York based contemporary music ensemble, Bang on a Can. He has also led the choir in appearances with VOCES8 and the Rolling Stones. In April 2025, the Concert Choir and Bang on a Can reunited for a performance of David Lang’s new work, before and after nature. In November 2018 the choir released a critically acclaimed live recording on VALE Records of MEMORIA, by Scott Eggert, a 70-minute cantata commemorating the centenary of the armistice which led to the end of World War 1. He has been engaged as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, China, and New Zealand.
As well as teaching and performing, from 2002-2021 Kiver served as Director of Music Ministries at First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and University Baptist and Brethren Church in State College, Pennsylvania.
Kiver’s research interests include conducting pedagogy, working with changing voices, vocal pedagogy through movement, concert programming, and advocating for choral music and diversity. His articles have been published in the American Choral Directors Association’s Choral Journal.
For ACDA, Kiver currently serves as Past President of the Eastern Region. He is a former national Repertoire and Standards chair for TTBB Choirs, and past president of the Pennsylvania state chapter.
While living in Brisbane from 1996-2002, Kiver conducted the Brisbane Chorale, Brisbane Concert Choir, Queensland University Musical Society, Blackstone-Ipswich Cambrian Choir, and was Director of Choirs at Brisbane Boys’ College. In 2001, Kiver was guest conductor for the massed choir at the Goodwill Games Gala Concert, the Queensland Pops Orchestra, and the Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival.
A native of England, Kiver has received numerous prizes and scholarships including a Fulbright Award, and the 2002 Sydney World Choral Symposium Foundation Scholarship. In February 2006 he was a double Grammy Award winner (“Best Choral Performance” and “Best Classical Album”) as a chorus master for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom’s monumental Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Kiver was the recipient of Penn State University’s President’s Award for Engagement with Students in 2017.
Kiver is a graduate of the University of London, Florida State University, and the University of Michigan where he received the D.M.A. in choral conducting. A student of Jerry Blackstone, Theodore Morrison, Rodney Eichenberger, and André Thomas, he has also studied with Simon Halsey, Roy Wales, Stefan Parkman and Frieder Bernius.