Dr Christopher Windle
Dr. Christopher Windle enjoys an active and diverse career as a conductor and singer while based in Chicago, IL. Currently, he is the Artistic Director of the Chicago Chamber Choir. Under his direction, the choir has been hailed as “… an ensemble to seek out in a crowded field” (Vocal Arts Chicago) and praised for their “… well-blended ensemble and polished vocalism … with the sopranos secure, soaring freely in their high-flying passages,” (Chicago Classical Review). The Chicago Chamber Choir is committed to creating experiences that engage the community in high quality choral art.
Windle also serves as the Associate Director of Music & Choirmaster at the Church of the Atonement in Chicago, IL. Here he conducts the Schola, Atonement Choir, and St. Cecilia Choir. These choirs sing weekly choral mass and bi-weekly evensong, and have over 60 choral masses in their repertoire.
He continues to collaborate with Constellation Men's Ensemble (CME), winners of the 2019 American Prize in the professional choir division. As Artistic Consultant he has conducted numerous world premiers for men’s voices on the NOVA concert series, and in 2019 began serving as Editor for the NOVA Editions music series, where he works to expand the repertoire for men’s voices by making the works premiered by CME available to other choirs.
Additionally, Windle serves on the faculty of the DePaul University School of Music where he conducts the Treble Choir. Previously, he served on the faculties of Benedictine University as Instructor of Choral Studies and Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.
He has conducted and prepared numerous choirs including the Bridge Ensemble (Baltimore), the Chicago Bar Association Chorus, Singing City (Philadelphia), the Maryland State Boychoir, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, the Northfield Youth Choirs (Minnesota), Temple University, and Northwestern University's choral and opera departments.
Equally at home as a tenor, Windle has sung in professional choirs throughout the country, including the Crossing, the Grant Park Chorus, the South Dakota Chorale, Bella Voce, and the Philadelphia Singers. Currently, in addition to his busy conducting schedule, Windle sings with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque and Schola Laudis.
Windle has studied with esteemed conductors including Dr Donald Nally, Dr Paul Rardin, Dr Rollo Dilworth, Dr Anton Armstrong, Dr Andrew Megill, and Helmuth Rilling. He holds a BM in Church Music from St. Olaf College, an MM in Choral Conducting from Temple University, and recently completed his DMA at Northwestern University, where he wrote a dissertation titled “Tudor Influence in Contemporary Music: A Comparison of the Music of Gabriel Jackson to Tudor Models.