Directing With Heart & Soul

Phillip McLendon has been the Choral Director at Santa Barbara High School where directs the noted Madrigals and A Capella Choir. He holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Arkansas where he studied with Richard Brothers and William Gant, students and colleagues, respectively, of Francis Poulenc and Paul Hindemith. He came to Santa Barbara to study privately with Martial Singher and Maurice Abravanel, and to pursue advanced studies at the Music Academy of the West. As leader of the Chorale and other organizations, Mr. McLendon has conducted well over 125 choral concerts with orchestra in the Santa Barbara area. He annually conducts the “Messiah Sing-Along”, sponsored by KDB-FM, to support local charities.

As a tenor soloist, Mr. McLendon has appeared in leading roles in opera and oratorio, including Guild Opera, Los Angeles; Hidden Valley Opera, Carmel; P.C.P.A., Santa Maria; The William Hall Chorale; The Ventura and Santa Barbara Symphonies; and many other performing arts organizations. He has appeared as soloist in such varied venues as French National Television; the International Music Festival in Aix-en-Provence, France; the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy; and the remote Delphic Amphitheater at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He has studied and performed with such musicians as Mme. Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Heinz Blankenburg, Helmuth Rilling, and Samuel Barber. He is a published composer and an Earle Hagen Fellow of Broadcast Music Incorporated. he has also served as Conductor and Music Director of the Santa Barbara Master Chorale since 1985.