Valley Concert Chorale's Artistic Staff

John Emory Bush began musical studies at the age of seven in his native Michigan. Trained as a conductor, pianist, organist, and harpist, he has a a Bachelors degree from Albion College in Michigan and Master's degree from the Juilliard School. Mr. Bush has been privileged to study and coach with the distinguished conductors Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Helmuth Rilling and Robert Shaw. In 1988, he was one of five (and the only American) to be invited to study conducting with Antal Dorati in Bern and Basel, Switzerland. He has studied with the renowned organists Joan Lippincott, Albert Fuller and the late Leonard Raver. During the summer of 1991, Bush joined the faculty of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where he coached singers and appeared in recitals. For most of the past decade, Mr. Bush was a member of the vocal coaching and accompanying staff at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and director of choral activities at the College of Notre Dame, Belmont, California.

In addition to his position as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Valley Concert Chorale, Mr. Bush serves as Music Director and Conductor of the San Francisco Concert Chorale.

For several years while working with the VCC and SFCC, he also served as organist and director of music for St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas Texas, commuting back and forth from California on a weekly basis. Before that he served as organist and director of music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Burlingame, CA.

Mr. Bush has conducted the Bay Area premieres of Conrad Susa's oratorio The Wise Women; Antal Dorati's Pater Noster and Robert Levin's completion of Mozart's Requiem (which we presented in March of 2002). He has led concert tours to Mexico and France, has recorded two compact discs of music, and also maintains an active schedule of organ recitals.

Mr. Bush has been Artistic Director for the Valley Concert Chorale since 1998.