Aaron Knodle
aaronknodle.com

Aaron Knodle is Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education and Director of Choral Activities at Louisiana Tech University where he conducts the Chamber Singers and University Concert Choir, and teaches courses in conducting and choral music education. His research interests include historical performance practice (especially in the performance of the music of J.S. Bach), models for collaborative teaching in the choral setting, and staging concert works. He believes that musicological research should yield practical results and focuses his own academic work on investigating some of the issues that impact current organizations and performances. He has explored the notated and actual sounding range demands of alto voices at each of Bach’s professional positions and developed a recommendation for the engagement of either countertenors, mezzo-sopranos, or contraltos as the ideal alto voice in current performances of Bach’s vocal music. He is currently exploring the staging of concert works and the academic debates surrounding which works should be staged, in what way, and whether this practice engages a broader audience. He is also currently partnering with a sociologist on a project that explores some of the structural dynamics of choral ensembles to analyze and understand relationships within an increasingly diverse membership.