Donald Palumbo is an American choral conductor and vocal coach. He is the former chorus master of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and a member of the Vocal Arts faculty at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. Palumbo is from

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

and graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

with a BA in chemistry (1970). He did not attend a

conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

but learned his skills by singing in opera choruses in Austria under conductors including

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

and

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz, St ...

, accompanying opera rehearsals on the piano, and working with other chorus masters: "every time I had the opportunity to do something — say, play rehearsals for a small opera company or prepare a small chorus for a regional opera company — I just said, 'Yes, I'll be glad to do that.' " He was assistant to the Robert Benaglio, chorus master at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, and has been chorus master at

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the ...

and the

Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...

. He was music director of the Boston Chorus pro Musica from 1980 to 1990. From 1991 to 2007 Palumbo was chorus master of the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...

. In 1999 Palumbo was the first American to be appointed chorus director of the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

. In autumn 2007 he was appointed chorus master of the

of New York, in which capacity he prepared the chorus for some 25 productions each year. When his appointment was announced in 2006,

Peter Gelb Peter Gelb (born 1953) is an American arts administrator. Since August 2006, he has been General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Career Early career While in high school, Gelb began his association with the Metropolitan Ope ...

, the opera's general manager, said: "Donald Palumbo is widely regarded as the greatest chorus conductor in the world today". He is a seven time Grammy winner for his recordings with the Metropolitan Opera. Since 2014 he has also been the vocal coach for the apprentices of the

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...

, and he works with young artists at the

Glimmerglass Festival The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake nort ...

. In 2016 he was appointed to the faculty of the

's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. Palumbo retired from the Metropolitan Opera in June of 2024, after 17 years with the institution. He and his husband, John Hauser, split their time between homes in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. On June 3, 2025, Palumbo was named as the next director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, beginning July 1, 2025.

References

External links

* ''Audio interview, 54 min''
Opera Choruses with Donald Palumbo
''Video talk by Palumbo about his career and opera choruses, recorded for the Self-Isolation Choir in June 2021: starts at 10:10'' * Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American choral conductors Boston University alumni Juilliard School faculty {{CI, date=July 2021