Monmouth Civic Chorus is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Vondrak as its new Artistic Director. Vondrak will begin his tenure with the ensemble for the 2026-27 season, stepping into the position held by Dr. Ryan Brandau for 14 years.
Following an extensive search, the chorus selected Vondrak for his remarkable blend of musical artistry, commitment to excellence, and clear passion for community-centered choral singing.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin Vondrak as our new Artistic Director,” said James Scavone, President of Monmouth Civic Chorus. “Throughout the search process, Kevin stood out among a group of exceptional candidates for his artistic vision, musical sensitivity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to community. I cannot imagine a leader better-suited to guide the chorus into its next chapter while honoring all that we have built in our 77-year history.”
Vondrak said, “I couldn’t be more excited to take the helm of an organization as fine as Monmouth Civic Chorus. The Chorus’s reputation for thoughtful musicianship and a deeply engaged community is well-earned and apparent, and I look forward to many years of music-making together as its next Artistic Director.”
Vondrak brings to the position extensive experience as a conductor, collaborator, recording producer, and composer/arranger.
He is Associate Conductor of The Crossing, a Philadelphia-based professional chamber choir, where he has collaborated on dozens of world premieres with many of the world’s leading composers and orchestras at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, and Kimmel Center. As a recording producer with The Crossing, he has won two Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance and co-produced the ensemble’s studio releases since 2020.
Community is an important aspect of Vondrak’s work, and he has served on the board of the cooperative choir the Chestnut Street Singers, assistant music directed David Lang’s the mile-long opera for 1000 singers staged on The High Line in NYC, and for six years directed a choir of senior citizens at The Beaumont at Bryn Mawr in suburban Philadelphia. He is an experienced church musician, most recently serving as interim choirmaster at St. Mark’s Church on Locust Street in Philadelphia.
He is an award-winning pop a cappella music director, has arranged 100+ titles for high school, collegiate, and community ensembles across the globe, and has been commissioned to compose and arrange music for The Crossing, Northwestern University, Constellation Men’s Ensemble, and the Chestnut Street Singers.
Vondrak comes to Monmouth Civic Chorus after finishing residence as a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate in Choral Conducting at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, where he is assistant conductor of the Yale Glee Club and conductor of the Chamber Singers. He holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Washington University in St. Louis.
Additional details about the 2026-27 season and programming under Vondrak’s leadership will be announced in the coming months.
About Monmouth Civic Chorus
Monmouth Civic Chorus makes the music that moves you. The chorus has been called “near-flawless” (Asbury Park Press), “alive and evocative” (The Star-Ledger) and “superior” (Red Bank Green). MCC is the proud recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, and a third-place winner of the 2018-19 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
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