Andrew Bruhn

Biography

Andrew Bruhn is the Director of Choral Activities at Illinois State University, where he conducts Concert Choir, Belle Voix (an advanced treble choir), and teaches conducting. A versatile musician, Dr. Bruhn has worked as a professional choral conductor, educator, composer, church musician, and trumpeter. His teaching at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels has earned him numerous awards and recognitions, including multiple Golden Apple Foundation nominations and consistent inclusion on the “Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students” list at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His school choirs regularly earned superior ratings at organizational contests, with one being a featured performer at the Illinois Music Education Conference.

Dr. Bruhn received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Andrew Megill. He earned his Master of Sacred Music degree in Choral Conducting from Luther Seminary and St. Olaf College, where he studied with Anton Armstrong and Christopher Aspaas. His Bachelor of Music degree is in Trumpet Performance from Wheaton College.

As a trumpeter, Dr. Bruhn performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (the training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). He performed under renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Nelson, Gerard Schwartz, and James DePriest. Dr. Bruhn was a student at the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he won the Fine Arts Award for Trumpet in 2000, and he was the Emerson Scholar (full tuition) from Illinois in 2003. In 2005, he studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has performed at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the National Trumpet Competition and won the October 2004 International Trumpet Guild Young Artist Award. His teachers included William Scarlett, Charles Geyer, and Barbara Butler.

A prolific composer, Dr. Bruhn’s music is published by leading publishers such as Alfred Music, Carl Fischer, Lawson-Gould, Hinshaw, Augsburg Fortress, Santa Barbara, Heritage Music Press, GIA, Choristers Guild, Kjos, Concordia, and Paraclete Press. He studied composition with Alice Parker and David Cherwien. In 2017, Dr. Bruhn won the Illinois American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Composition Contest and has been a finalist in other national composition contests, including the American Prize.

Outside of his professional work, Dr. Bruhn enjoys spending time with his wife, their two daughters, and their golden retriever.