Kyle Nielsen

Kyle Nielsen is the Director of the Osher School of Music and Head of Choral Activities at
the University of Southern Maine, where he oversees the School of Music as well as leads the
choral ensembles and Master of Music in Choral Conducting coursework. Previous to this
appointment, he was Director of Choral Activities at Southern Virginia University, where he
conducted the Chamber Singers, Men’s Chorus, led the Choral Studies concentration, taught
applied voice, and oversaw the Choral Studies internship. The choirs at Southern Virginia
received several performance invitations under his direction, most notably the Chamber Singers’ appearance as the only collegiate choir at the 2022 VMEA Professional Development
Conference.

Also in demand as a guest clinician and conductor, recent appearances include in 2025 Maine
Music Educators’ Association Professional Development conference, Maine ACDA adjudicated festival, the 2025 Maine ACDA Fall Festival, the 2024 VCDA District V Honor Choir, and the Utah Music Educators’ Association State Choir Festival. He has presented lecture sessions on rehearsal technique & engagement, incorporating technology & social media into a choral culture, and singer-focused aesthetic programming at state, regional, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, NAfME, and Chorus America.  Additionally, Nielsen was one of six representatives of the United States selected by the ACDA for their International Conductor Exchange Program with Israel.

In addition to his academic work, Nielsen is the incoming Artistic Director for Amare Cantare, an auditioned chamber chorus based out of Durham, New Hampshire. Previous professional
appointments include Artistic Administrator for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, a project-based
professional choir in based in Santa Fe, NM; conducting fellow with the Grammy-nominated
professional choir Seraphic Fire; and Associate Conductor of the Master Chorale of South
Florida. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of The Origin Initiative, a professional
ensemble singing training program which prepares pre-professional vocal artists for
contemporary careers through diverse performance, personalized mentorship, and skill
development.

Nielsen is a graduate of the DMA Choral Conducting program at the University of Miami Frost
School of Music, the MM Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance & Pedagogy programs at
East Carolina University, and holds both a BA in Music and Theatre from Southern Virginia
University.