John F. Warren

Biography

John F. Warren is professor of music and director of the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University, where he was director of choral activities for 20 years. During his tenure, Syracuse University choirs have performed at two state and three Eastern Region American Choral Director Association (ACDA) Conferences, including Rochester in 2020, and have toured throughout the Northeast United States and Canada, as well as Europe and South America. The Syracuse University Singers performed for the 2017 National Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Internationally, Syracuse University Singers won the 2015 Grand Prix at the Florilegé Vocal de Tours in France, which entitled them to compete in Varna, Bulgaria, in May 2016 as a finalist in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. Warren travelled back to Varna to judge the 2017 International Choir Competition. The choir’s first album, “Mysteries and Wonders,” is readily available. Warren is a regular guest conductor with The Syracuse Orchestra, the professional orchestra of Syracuse, New York.

Warren has served various leadership roles in ACDA since 2003. He has been a repertoire and resources chair, a member of the International Activities National Standing Committee, a planner and leader of conferences, and from 2019-21 was NYACDA president.

A remarkable musician and educator, Warren has received many awards such as the 2024 Ovation Award from the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association and the 2016 NYACDA Choral Director of the Year. He has won the 2011 and 2022 Faculty Excellence Awards from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. Prior to coming to Syracuse, Warren was the director of choral activities at Erskine College in South Carolina, where he was awarded the 2005 Younts Excellence in Teaching Award.

Warren has lectured, adjudicated and conducted festival choirs throughout the Eastern United States, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan and has published research in the Choral Journal and the International Choral Bulletin. In November 2024, he headlined the 22nd Paraíba Choral Festival in Joao Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.

Education

• D.M.A., University of Miami
• M.M., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
• B.M., Furman University

Areas of Expertise

Choral conducting, choral music