Rollo Dilworth
Presenter
Rollo Dilworth is currently Vice Dean and Professor of Choral Music Education in the Department of Music Education and Therapy at Temple University’s Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts in Philadelphia, PA. He has served on the faculty since 2009. Prior to his position with Boyer College, he taught music education and was the director of choral activities for 13 years at North Park University in Chicago, where he prepared and conducted numerous extended and choral-orchestral works. Before teaching at the college level, Dilworth also taught choral and general music at the middle school level in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in choral music education, Dilworth serves as Artistic Director and Conductor for the Temple University Singing Owls Campus/Community Chorus, and as Conductor for the School District of Philadelphia High School All-City Chorus. Dilworth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education (Music concentration) from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the Doctor of Music degree in Conducting Performance (Theory/Composition cognate) from Northwestern University. Over 200 of Dilworth’s choral compositions and arrangements have been published, and many are part of the Henry Leck Creating Artistry Choral Series with the Hal Leonard Corporation. In 2015, Dilworth launched his own choral series with Hal Leonard, focusing on secondary and tertiary level repertoire representing composers and arrangers from diverse backgrounds. He is also an established author and contributor for the Essential Elements for Choir and the Experiencing Choral Music textbook series. Much of Dilworth’s creative output as a composer and arranger focuses on themes of social justice and social change. Most recently, a consortium of 20 universities and arts organizations commissioned Dilworth to set Claudia Rankine’s social justice poem Weather to music for chorus, narrator, and wind ensemble. Recent engagements include serving as guest conductor for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, SUNY Potsdam Chorus and Wind Symphony, and for choral festivals in Cincinnati, OH, Charleston, WV, Denver, CO, and Prague, Czech Republic.