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BIO

Dwight Bigler is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Virginia Tech where he conducts the VT Chamber Singers and has taught choral literature, choral arranging, conducting, and orchestration. He is also the Music Director of the Blacksburg Master Chorale and has held positions at Trinity University, Colorado State–Fort Collins, and was the pianist and assistant conductor of the Dale Warland Singers. Bigler has led international choir tours to Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, and conducted the Virginia Tech Choirs and Wind Ensemble in a performance at Carnegie Hall. He has also conducted masterworks for choir and orchestra including Carmina Burana (Orff), Ein deutsches Requiem (Brahms), Elijah (Mendelssohn), Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Vaughan Williams), Harmoniemesse (Haydn), In terra pax (Finzi), Messiah (Handel), and Requiems by Faure and Mozart. Bigler enjoys leading choir workshops & festivals and has done so throughout the United States and in China, Indonesia, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Ireland, and Ecuador.

As a composer, Bigler’s works have received notable recognition as the 2023 winner of The American Prize (“Mosaic for Earth”); Carnegie Hall premiere (“Three Appalachian Songs for Choir and Wind Ensemble,” 2017); winner of the National Collegiate Choral Organization composition contest (“Miss Mackenzie,” 2011); and performances by honor choirs at the local, state, and national levels. His compositions are published by Alliance, Boosey & Hawkes, E.C. Schirmer, Hinshaw, Oxford, and Walton Music. Bigler holds degrees from Brigham Young University (B.M. in Piano Performance, M.M. in Choral Conducting) and The University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A. in Choral Conducting), with cognates in composition throughout.

As a member and advocate of the LGBTQ+ community, Bigler hopes his work will build community, harmony, understanding, and a sense of awe for the beautiful diversity in our world.