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Biography

John Irving is director of choral studies at Christopher Newport University where he conducts the CNU Chamber Choir and University Chorale and teaches courses in choral conducting and literature, music education, and vocal pedagogy. In addition to his responsibilities at CNU, he is artistic director of the Ad Astra Music Festival in Kansas and sings with the Virginia Chorale and Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. Dr. Irving has served as interim music director of the Denton Bach Society and men’s chorus director of Westminster’s Vocal Institute. Previously, he was director of choral music at Fordham High School for the Arts in New York City and founding choral workshop director to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute Count Me In program. The New York Times praised his choirs in performance as “not just exuberant but polished and precise.”

Dr. Irving earned a doctorate in choral conducting from the University of North Texas. He holds a master’s degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin. His musical training began as a treble with the Texas Boys Choir.