About Donald Nally
Donald Nally (born December 27, 1960) is an American conductor, chorus master, and professor of conducting, specializing in chamber choirs, opera, and new music. Nally has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, of which he has won 4. He is the current director of Choral studies at Westminster Choir College, and conductor of the professional new-music choir, The Crossing, based in Philadelphia. Nally has been chorus master of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Welsh National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He has been nominated eleven times for the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, winning in 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2025. He has won numerous awards and is recognized as one of the leading commissioners of new music in the United States. == Early life and education == Nally was born in Hilltown, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM, music education), Westminster Choir College (MM, choral conducting), and the University of Illinois (DMA, choral conducting). In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. He has been Artist in Residence at Washington and Lee University and Shorter University, has been on the faculty of the University of Illinois, and has been guest lecturer at Indiana University and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. == Professional life == Nally’s first professional chamber choir was The Bridge Ensemble which sang concerts 1996-1997; though it failed financially, it established a significant presence in Philadelphia, receiving a great amount of critical attention and laying the groundwork for the success of The Crossing.
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