Music
Cameron LaBarr is director of choral studies and the Clif and Gail Smart professor in music at Missouri State University where is the conductor of the Missouri State University Chorale, Men’s Chorus, Chamber Choir and Grand Chorus. Additionally, Dr. LaBarr leads a comprehensive graduate choral conducting program. He earned the M.M. and D.M.A. from the University of North Texas where he studied with Jerry McCoy and Richard Sparks. He has completed further study in choral music and conducting with Simon Carrington and Alice Parker. Dr. LaBarr has an international reputation as conductor, clinician, and choral juror across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and serves as board member for the International Federation for Choral Music. Dr. LaBarr’s recent engagements include concerts and events in Indonesia, France, Chile, Argentina, South Korea, South Africa, and Spain. Dr. LaBarr curates two choral series with Santa Barbara Music Publishing and Walton Music, where he champions emerging and established composers, and is additionally published by Colla Voce, Choristers Guild, Walton Music, and GIA Publications. Commercially released recordings can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. Dr. LaBarr is co-author of the book The Melodic Voice: Conversations with Alice Parker.
He has previously held university choral positions at Lee University (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the University of North Texas. Dr. LaBarr has been awarded conducting fellowships at the Yale International Choral Festival, the Sarteano (Italy) Chamber Choir Workshop, and was named a Salzburg Fellow in April 2014, where he participated in the Salzburg Seminar: Conflict Transformation through Peace-Building and the Arts.
Choirs under the direction of Dr. LaBarr have been selected for performance at the Tennessee Music Education Association Conference, Tennessee ACDA Conference, Missouri Music Educators Association Conference, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, National Collegiate Choral Organization, National ACDA, Southwest ACDA, Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses National Seminar, the China International Chorus Festival, the IFCM World Voices Conference the Tolosa Choral Contest (Basque Country, Spain), and the Jeju International Choral Festival (South Korea). Recently, Dr. LaBarr has been a jury member for the Asia Grand Prix, the Bali International Choral Festival (Indonesia), the China International Choral Festival, and the Tolosa Choral Contest (Basque Country, Spain). Dr. LaBarr has served as artistic director of international choral festivals in the Czech Republic, Italy, France, and Ireland, and has conducted concerts of the MSU Chorale in South Africa (2016 and 2022), Scandinavia (2018), China (2018), Spain (2021), Canada (2023), and across the United States.
Cameron F. LaBarr is director of choral studies at Missouri State University where he leads a comprehensive choral program including over 250 singers in eight choirs. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Missouri State University and he earned a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas. He has completed further study in choral music and conducting with Simon Carrington and Alice Parker. He has previously held university choral positions at Lee University (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the University of North Texas. Dr. LaBarr has been awarded conducting fellowships at the Yale International Choral Festival, the Sarteano (Italy) Chamber Choir Workshop, and was named a Salzburg Fellow in April 2014, where he participated in the Salzburg Seminar: Conflict Transformation through Peace-Building and the Arts.
Choirs under his direction have been selected for performance at the Tennessee Music Education Association Conference, Tennessee ACDA Conference, Missouri Music Educators Association Conference, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, National Collegiate Choral Organization, National ACDA, Southwest ACDA, Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses National Seminar, the China International Chorus Festival and the IFCM World Voices Conference. Dr. LaBarr has worked as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, most recently presenting at the China International Chorus Festival (2016 and 2018) and serving on the jury panel for the 8th Bali International Choir Festival.
Dr. LaBarr has published articles and reviews in the Choral Journal and The Chorister and serves as editor of two choral series through Santa Barbara Music Publishing and Walton Music. His choral arrangements and editions are published by Colla Voce Music, Choristers Guild, and Walton Music. Dr. LaBarr is co-author of the book The Melodic Voice: Conversations with Alice Parker.
Dr. LaBarr has published articles and reviews in the Choral Journal and The Chorister and is the editor of two choral series with Santa Barbara Music Publishing and Walton Music which include over 100 publications. His choral arrangements and editions are published by Colla Voce Music, Choristers Guild, and Walton Music.
Major choral-orchestral works conducted by LaBarr include Bach’s Aus der Tiefen rufe ich (Denton Bach Choir and Orchestra), Mozart’s Requiem (Christ UMC Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra), Randall Thompson’s Testament of Freedom (UNT Men’s Chorus and Dallas Metropolitan Winds), Ralph Vaughan Williams' Hodie, Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Finzi’s In Terra Pax, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, Haydn's Nelsonmesse (Lee University Choral Union and Symphony Orchestra), Haydn’s Paukenmesse, and John Wykoff’s Out of this Darkness: The Normandy Cantata.
Dr. LaBarr co-authored the book The Melodic Voice: Conversations with Alice Parker with Tennessee-based composer John Wykoff.
As a champion of new music, Dr. LaBarr has commissioned over 30 new choral works over the past 15 years from composers from across the world.