Dr. Craig Jessop is Professor of Music and Head of the
Department of Music at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He is also the newly
appointed Music Director of the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra. These appointments follow Dr.
Jessop’s distinguished tenure as music director of the world famous Mormon
Tabernacle Choir. He
concurrently serves as the music director of the Carnegie Hall National High
School Choral Festival sponsored by the Weill Institute of Music at Carnegie
Hall. Prior to his
appointment with the Tabernacle Choir, Dr. Jessop was a Lieutenant Colonel in
the U.S. Air Force music programs, where he served as director of the U.S. Air Force
Singing Sergeants in Washington, D.C. (1980-1987); as commander and conductor
of the Band of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein, Germany (1987-1991);
and as commander and conductor of the Air Combat Command Heartland of America
Band (1991-1995). He has
also been music director of the Maryland Choral Society, the Rhineland-Pfalz International Choir of
Germany and the Omaha Symphonic Chorus.
Dr. Jessop has
been on the American choral scene for more than thirty years. The renowned choral
conductor has recently stepped down from leadership of the world-famous Mormon
Tabernacle Choir after over 12 years of service with the choir. Under Dr. Jessop’s musical
direction, the Tabernacle Choir received numerous awards, including the
National Medal of Arts. He
has recorded over 15 CDs on the Telarc and MTC labels with the Choir and most
recently received a Grammy nomination for his work with the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.
At the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City,
Dr. Jessop conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony, working
with world-renowned artists Sting and Yo-Yo Ma, and composers John Williams and
Michael Kamen. Other artists with whom he has collaborated include Renée
Fleming, Frederica von Stade, Bryn Terfel, Audra McDonald, The King’s Singers,
Angela Lansbury, Claire Bloom, Walter Cronkite, and Charles Osgood. In
2003, Dr. Jessop conducted the choir and prepared the singers for a performance
of A German Requiem at the
prestigious Tanglewood Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Rafael
Frübeck de Burgos. A much sought-after guest conductor, Dr. Jessop has
conducted the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival sponsored by
the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall and the Berkshire Choral Festival.
In addition to his work as a conductor, Dr. Jessop has been
active as a baritone vocalist, first as a member of the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir, and later with the choirs of Helmuth Rilling and John Rutter and with
the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. He is a previous winner of the
Metropolitan Opera regional auditions and San Francisco Opera auditions, and
has participated in the Merola Opera training program of the San Francisco
Opera.
He lives in the peaceful setting of the northern Utah valley
of Cache County with his wife RaNae. They are the parents of 4 children and have four
wonderful grandsons.