photo courtesy of Michael Schwartz
Brian Bartoldus is a multi-faceted musician who serves as a conductor throughout the greater Baltimore/Washington area. Since 2017, he has served as the Artistic Director of the Handel Choir of Baltimore, a critically acclaimed choral ensemble known for its performances with period instrument orchestra, particularly its yearly performances of Handel’s Messiah. Brian has led Handel Choir in the opening concert of the 2022 Chorus America conference, and prepared the chorus for multiple collaborations with the Baltimore Symphony orchestra under the baton of such luminaries as Patrick Dupré Quigley and Nicholas McGegan.
From 2011-2018, Brian served as the founding Artistic Director of Third Practice, a DC area vocal ensemble that uses carefully planned programming to show the connections between contemporary compositions and the music of the past. The ensemble's artful singing won plaudits from the press, commending their "ethereal voices," (Patrick D. McCoy, Washington Life Magazine), "precise timing, careful balance and clear-cut phrasing," (Cecelia Porter, The Washington Post), "evocative heavy lifting" (Anne Midgette, The Washington Post) and "first-rate" musicality (Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times). Since their founding, Third Practice has enjoyed collaborating with such esteemed musicians as Three Notch’d Road: The Charlottesville Baroque Ensemble, The City Choir of Washington, Frederick Camerata, Great Noise Ensemble, and the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Highlights of their repertoire include David Lang’s Pulitzer prize-winning the little match girl passion, Louis Andriessen’s La Commedia, Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, the world premiere of John Tavener’s Three Hymns of George Herbert, and the world premiere of Tawnie Olson’s No Capacity to Consent, winner of a NewMusicUSA grant.
In addition to conducting, Brian is active as a lecturer and clinician, presenting throughout America and England on subjects ranging from Gregorian chant to late 20th century masterworks. He has composed pieces for such esteemed groups as The Washington Chorus, City Choir of Washington, and Ensemble vOkabile (Hamburg, Germany), and arranged works for the Washington Master Chorale. Brian also serves as adjunct faculty at Mount St. Mary's University, and performs as an organist, pianist, and chorister (in that order), particularly in relation to his position as Music Director and Organist at Frederick Presbyterian Church.
Brian is a committed and passionate advocate for new music. He is honored to have commissioned and premiered works by Tawnie Olson, Joshua Bornfield, Jasmine Barnes, Stephen Feigenbaum, and Daniel Sabzghabaei.
In 2015, Brian earned his D.M.A. in choral conducting from Yale University, where he studied with professors Marguerite Brooks, Simon Carrington, Jeffrey Douma, and Masaaki Suzuki. He completed his undergraduate studies in composition and organ performance at Shenandoah University, where his primary teachers included William Averitt, Robert Shafer, and Steven Cooksey. Brian currently resides in Alexandria, VA, with his wife Santana and daughter Magdalena.