Dr. Steven Hankle directs the choirs at University of Dayton in Ohio. Steven caught my attention recently with a very vulnerable post on FB in which he was both celebrating his recent promotion to tenured professor and expressing gratitude for the people that helped him “beat the odds” as an African male growing up in the South Side of Chicago.

So, I asked Steven to be even more vulnerable and join me to explore this story further. How can music, and ensemble create a bridge a person’s life that helps them climb a mountain? In this episode, we will hear what it was like for Steven growing up, and why being a tenured professor in Choral Music is such a significant departure from what young Steven envisioned for his life.

We also discuss the socio economic issues facing many inner city kids, the misleading nature of racial language, the power of choral music as an agent for social change, and the way Steven’s story his impacted his teaching philosophy.

Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!

Dr. Steven Hankle is the Associate Professor of Choral Music and Music Education at the University of Dayton, where he directs the University Chorale and Bella Voce. Also, he teaches choral conducting and choral methods. Dr. Hankle also serves as choral faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where he directs the staff choir, alumni choir and vocal ensemble. As the Music Director of the Alumni Choir, Dr. Hankle has directed a live Blue Lake Radio broadcast performance of John Rutter’s Gloria. He also conducted Johannes Brahms’s Liebeslieder Walze Op. 52 during Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Summer Festival. Hankle is the Chorus Director for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, where he prepared the chorus to perform with the Dayton Philharmonic for the world premiere of Steven Winteregg’s Expressions, Brahms’s Requiem, Mozart’s Missa Breves, and more. An active clinician and adjudicator, he has worked with choirs in California, Florida, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kenya, Africa, and Tijuana, Mexico.

Dr. Hankle is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), where he serves on the state board in Ohio, Chorus America, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Collegiate Conductor Organization (NCCO), where he serves on the National Board, and Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA). Dr. Hankle has presented his research at the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA), Arizona Music Education Association (AMEA), NAfME, and ACDA conferences. His primary area of interest is developing choral music programs in urban secondary public schools, student engagement through movement, developing sight-reading skills through repertoire in the choral rehearsal, leadership in the choral classroom and wellness for choral conductors to prevent teacher burnout.

A native of Chicago, Steven Hankle received undergraduate and masters degrees in music education and choral conducting from San Francisco State University and his Ph.D. in choral conducting and music education from Florida State University. Prior to his appointment at the University of Dayton, he served as choral music and music education faculty at Penn State University. He successfully developed a new choral music program at Mission High School in San Francisco.

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