Jeff Vanderlee

Dr. Jeff Vanderlee (he/his) recently joined the choral faculty at the Fred Fox School of Music in the fall of 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Arizona. He is the conductor of Collegium Musicum, a choral ensemble dedicated to the performance of music pre-1750, and his research is centered on 17th-century Thuringian motets, especially those of Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703). He also teaches private graduate conducting lessons, as well as the second semester of the undergraduate choral conducting sequence.

Jeff is also an active conductor, clinician, and accompanist who represents the University of Arizona in the greater Tucson community and further, in such recent projects as conducting the pit ensemble for a showing of Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent film Sherlock Jr., as part of the 2021 Loft Cinema Film Festival. Additionally in the same semester, he co-led a repertoire session at the American Choral Conductors Association Convention in Long Beach, CA, that centered around little-performed German Baroque motets. He also regularly accompanies and conducts choral clinics with high school choirs in the Tucson area.

Jeff also serves as the Director of Music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, where he conducts the Adult Parish Choir in weekly mass, as well as larger concert events at Christmas and Holy Week. He is also active as an accompanist for private voice students as well as middle and high school choirs throughout the Tucson metro area.