Joan Gregoryk, the Founder and Artistic Director of the Children's Chorus of Washington, is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of children's vocal music. Ms. Gregoryk prepared the singers for their debut at the Kennedy Center in November 1996 with The Washington Chorus (formerly The Oratorio Society of Washington) in a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony. She was invited by Music Director Leonard Slatkin to prepare the Chorus for four performances of Gabriel Piernz's The Children's Crusade with the National Symphony Orchestra and The Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center and at Carnegie Hall in November of 1997.

Ms. Gregoryk has also prepared members of CCW for a performance of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame directed by former NSO Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich, and performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 conducted by Music Director Leonard Slatkin. She has prepared choristers for three NSO Family Concert Series Concerts, the premiere performance of Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express by Robert Kapilow, and two performances of Hallelujah Handel. Ms. Gregoryk was invited to be guest conductor for the 22nd Annual Interfaith Concert at the Washington National Cathedral. Ms. Gregoryk prepared the Concert Chorus for the Washington premiere of Philip Glass's Symphony No. 5, conducted by Dante Anzolini.

Ms. Gregoryk taught for many years at Chevy Chase Elementary School where her work with the school's chorus won her considerable acclaim within professional music organizations, as well as invitations to perform within the United States and Europe. She prepared members of the Chevy Chase Chorus for the Grammy Award-nominated compact disc and film soundtrack recording of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra. She also prepared the Chevy Chase Elementary School Chorus for conductors Rafael Fruebeck de Burgos, Erich Leinsdorf, Erich Kunzel, and James Paul.

Ms. Gregoryk is in constant demand as a workshop leader and guest conductor throughout the United States and Canada. At universities, such as Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., she has taught music educator's courses on children's vocal development and the children's chorus for many years. She has also been a seminar leader for numerous Orff-Schulwerk, Kodaly, American Choral Directors and Music Educators chapters and is frequently invited to be a guest conductor for children's choral festivals. She has conducted performances in Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, Virginia , North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas.

Besides her exceptional work as a teacher, conductor and clinician, Ms. Gregoryk is also an accomplished writer. She was selected as the contributing author on children's vocal development and the children's chorus for the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Music Series, Music and You, as well as their 1994 Share the Music texts. She is one of the authors of the MENC 1990 publication Choral Music for Children, and has written articles for several professional music organization publications.

Because of her achievements, Ms. Gregoryk has been awarded numerous honors including Outstanding Arts Educator in the United States by the Rockefeller Brothers Funds Awards in Arts Education and the Maryland Outstanding Elementary Music Educator. She holds both a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Music Education, and is an Artist-Teacher Associate at the Choral Music Experience Institute. As a Teaching Associate, Ms. Gregoryk has taught conducting in London, and in Canterbury, England.

Groups Directed

Children's Chorus of Washington