Gayle Walker

Gayle Walker

Phone
614-823-1318

Email
gwalker@otterbein.edu

Office
Battelle Fine Arts Center 248

Professor and Director of Choral Activities
Department of Music

Dr. Gayle Walker is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Otterbein, where she organizes all vocal ensembles, conducts Concert Choir, and teaches classes in conducting, choral methods, aural skills, and music history. Dr. Walker has served as President of both the Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association and the Ohio Choral Directors Association. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of OCDA, as well as Otterbein University’s Exemplary Teaching Award.

Dr. Walker’s choirs have performed in major venues of Europe and Asia, including Thomaskirche in Leipzig, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Ireland, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, St. Nicholas Church in Prague, and the Beijing Conservatory. Under her direction, the Otterbein University Concert Choir has performed frequently at conferences of the Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association, the Ohio Choral Directors Association, and the Ohio Music Education Association, as well as multiple performances with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Walker has recorded six CDs with the Otterbein Concert Choir.

Education

  • D.A., University of Northern Colorado, 1996
  • Teaching Licensure, University of Colorado, 1989
  • M.M., University of Colorado, 1986
  • B.A., Macalester College, 1984

Research, Creative, & Professional Work

  • Choral and orchestral conducting performance
  • Early music history
  • Choral composition

Publications

  • Walker, Gayle. “It’s the Muple…No, It’s the People!” Resound, 40 no. 3, 2017.
  • Walker, Gayle. “Lessons from Robert Shaw: Cleveland Orchestra Chorus Notes 1957-1964.” Resound, 40 no. 1, 2016.
  • Gayle Walker. “Into Intonation: Guidelines for Singing in Tune.” TRIAD, Dec. 2016.
  • Gayle Walker. “Let the Leaves Fall, Not the Pitch.” Resound, 39 no. 3, 2015.
  • Gayle Walker. “Your Work Matters!” Resound, 39 no. 3, 2015.
  • Gayle Walker. “Good Vibrations: Vibrato, Science, and the Choral Singer.” The Choral Journal, December, 2016.

Affiliations & Awards

Affiliations
  • American Choral Directors Assoc. Central Division Past President
  • Ohio Choral Directors Association
  • Member of the Ohio Music Education Association
  • Member of the National Association For Music Education
  • Phi Beta Kappa
Awards
  • Otterbein Exemplary Teaching Award
  • OCDA Distinguished Service Award