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NSU School of Creative and Performing Arts Coordinator
07/21/08 - 05:58 PM
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NATCHITOCHES ­ Dr. Burt Allen has been named coordinator of music in the Mrs. H.D. Dear Sr. and Alice E. Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University. He succeeds Tony Smith, who has returned to full time teaching.

Allen has been the director of choral activities at Northwestern since 1983. His choirs have appeared before the Louisiana Music Educators Convention and the Louisiana All-State Choir on several occasions. They have also appeared three times at the Louisiana ACDA/LMEA Fall Vocal Music Conference. The Northwestern Chamber Choir made their Carnegie Hall solo debut in 1997.

For 25 years, Dr. Allen has distinguished himself as a member of the music faculty at Northwestern in many ways,² said Bill Brent, director of the Mrs.
H.D. Dear Sr. and Alice E. Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts.
³Over the years he has
authored many grants that have brought thousands of dollars in equipment to the music program.

³His choral ensembles are recognized as among the finest in the region and have presented performances across the South and in Carnegie Hall in New York City.  He is in constant demand as conductor for high school honor choirs across the United States.  He is highly respected by his colleagues in the School and I am confident in saying that he will do an outstanding job as the coordinator of the Northwestern music program.²

Allen received his Bachelor and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of Kansas. After teaching high school in Warren, Mich., from 1970-73, and also serving as Choral Director of Macomb County Community College from 1971-73, he returned to the University of Kansas as assistant director of choral activities from 1973-77. Allen earned the D.M.A in Conducting from Kansas in 1977 and accepted the position of assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at William Woods and Westminster College in Fulton, MO.

From 1981 to 1985 he served as one of the conductors of the high school choirs at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Mich. In addition to studying conducting with James Ralston and George Lawner at the University of Kansas, Allen has also studied under Marcel Couroud at the University of Oklahoma and with Robert Shaw at Emory University. He has appeared as guest conductor for festival and honor choirs in numerous states as well as in Canada and Japan.  These appearances include two as a guest conductor in Carnegie Hall.

In addition to frequent performances with the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony in major choral-orchestral works, the NSU choirs have also performed on several occasions with the Shreveport Symphony and Louisiana Philharmonic.  He was appointed artistic director for the Red River Chorale, an auditioned community chorus in Alexandria last fall.

Brent praised the work of Smith as coordinator of music for the past four years.

³Northwestern owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Smith for his outstanding service in the music coordinator position for the past several years.  He was always seeking to move the program forward and to treat both faculty and students fairly in any of his decisions.²

Allen¹s appointment has been approved by the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System.

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