David Hill
YISM Photo
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music has announced that choral conductor David Hill and writer Christian Wiman will join its faculty on July 1. Hill was appointed to a three-year term by the YISM and the Yale School of Music. In addition to his teaching duties, “Hill will serve as principal conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum,” according to a YISM news release.
The YISM news release indicates that Hill has served “as chief conductor of The BBC Singers, musical director of the Bach Choir, chief conductor of the Southern Sinfonia, music director of Leeds Philharmonic Society and associate guest conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.”
Martin Jean, the YISM’s director, described Hill as a “superlative conductor” and a “world-class musician.” Hill’s appointment, Jean said, will bring more consistency to the Schola Cantorum, which has been led on a part-time basis by Masaaki Suzuki since Simon Carrington retired from the position in 2008.
Of particular interest to Jean is Hill’s interest “in the role of the choir on the concert stage and in church.”
Hill was quoted in the YISM news release as saying his “wish is to continue developing the styles and repertoire of the group alongside Maestro Suzuki and fellow conductors from around the world.”
Christian Wiman
YISM Photo
Wiman, who was appointed to a five-year term by the YISM and Yale Divinity School, “has served as editor of Poetry, the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world … (and) is the author, translator, or editor of seven books,” a separate YISM news release explains.
“Christian’s line is a new line for us,” Jean said of Wiman’s role as “senior lecturer in religion and literature,” as described in the above-mentioned news release.
Jean said Wiman is an “erudite critic and a terrific writer of poetry and prose” whose “interest in the Christian theological tradition” was attractive to the YISM.
“He’s somebody that will share with the whole campus,” Jean said.