Hi! My name is John C. Hughes, and I am delighted to be joining the Chicago Master Singers as music director beginning in the fall of 2020. I am coming to CMS from Ripon College in Wisconsin, where I served as director of choral activities and chair of the music department. In addition to my duties at CMS, I am involved with the Green Lake Festival of Music, where I conduct the annual Composer Residency. Through this program, I have collaborated with Ola Gjeilo, Shawn Kirchner, and Elaine Hagenberg.

Accompanying my busy performance schedule, I am passionate about choral literature and scholarship, specializing in Lutheran music before 1600 and trends in contemporary choral composition. My book-length modern edition of Leonard Lechner’s Passion setting (1593) will be published in 2020. I have also authored peer-reviewed articles in the Choral Journal and The Choral Scholar, as well as numerous reviews of choral music, books, and recordings. For several years, I hosted Choir Chat, a weekly podcast of interviews with conductors and composers that ended after 129 episodes.

I am an active church musician and have led music programs at churches in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Additionally, I am involved in many professional organizations. I currently serve as associate editor of score reviews for The Choral Scholar and am a national board member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

I earned my undergraduate degree from Augustana College (IL), M.M. from Northern Illinois University, and D.M.A. from The University of Iowa. I am grateful to my teachers Timothy Stalter, Eric Johnson, Jon Hurty, and Michael Zemek.