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CSUF University Singers and Concert Choir
Dr. Robert Istad and Dr. Christopher Peterson, conductors
As one of the nation’s premiere collegiate choral ensembles, California State University, Fullerton’s University Singers have epitomized excellence for more than 50 years. Under the baton of Dr. Robert Istad, the University Singers are internationally acclaimed for their exquisite musicianship and have performed with renowned orchestras in prestigious venues at home and abroad, touring more than a dozen countries since 2007. Continuing to build upon this remarkable legacy, Istad and the University Singers regularly collaborate with professional orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. They have earned praise for their professionalism and expressive musicality from conductors they have worked with including Carl St.Clair, John Mauceri, John Williams, Eugene Kohn, Sir Neville Marriner, James Conlon, and Keith Lockhart.
Whether performing under the batons of John Williams or Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl; backing the vocals of Andrea Bocelli; or featured at Carnegie Hall, Chartres Cathedral, or Cal State Fullerton’s own Meng Concert Hall, the University Singers never fail to deliver the unmistakable sound synonymous with their reputation. In 2017, they recorded an album with Sony Classical under the baton of John Williams in a recording of music he composed for Steven Spielberg. Also in 2017, Istad and the University Singers released a commercial recording with Yarlung Records entitled “Nostos: The Homecoming of Music”– eleven vocal works sung and recorded in one take, without sheet music or editing. Not content to merely excel in the classical realm, the University Singers have also performed with Juanes, M83, Beck, Beach House, and Sean Lennon and can be seen in the PBS production “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.”
The California State University, Fullerton Concert Choir, directed by Christopher Peterson, is a 74-voice auditioned, mixed ensemble comprised primarily of students studying voice in the School of Music. The Concert Choir gives a number of performances in Southern California every year, and has also toured in Canada, Hawaii, Europe, and the United States. The Concert Choir performs a variety of accompanied and unaccompanied repertoire, and collaborates annually with the CSUF University Singers to present performances of choral-orchestral masterworks. They have joined the University Singers in performances with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. For the past four years they have represented CSUF at the Pacific Southwest Intercollegiate Choral Association Festival of Choirs. A major mission of the Concert Choir is to sing and perform traditional as well as new choral music at the highest artistic levels, and to communicate to their audiences through compelling and musical performances.
Dr. Robert Istad, a Grammy Award-winning conductor who “fashions fluent and sumptuous readings” (Voice of OC) with his “phenomenal” artistry (Los Angeles Times), is Professor, Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton and Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale. He was recognized as CSUF’s 2016 Outstanding Professor of the Year. At CSU Fullerton, Istad conducts the University Singers and manages CSUF’s large graduate choral conducting program. Recently, he and the University Singers performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, Kathleen Battle, the Eagles, and recorded albums with Yarlung Records and with composer John Williams and Sony Classical.
Under his leadership, Pacific Chorale continues to expand its reputation for excellence for delivering fresh, thought-provoking interpretations of beloved masterworks, rarely performed gems and newly commissioned pieces. In July 2023, he led Pacific Chorale’s first international tour in seven years, conducting performances at leading venues in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. His artistic impact can be heard on three recent recordings featuring Pacific Chorale, including the 2022 Grammy Award-winning Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Deutsche Grammophon (2021), for which he prepared the chorus. It won Best Choral Performance and also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Classical. Additionally, Istad prepared Pacific Chorale for Pacific Symphony’s commercial recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux released on Tonsehen Records (2024), and conducted the Pacific Chorale’s recording All Things Common: The Music of Tarik O’Regan released on Yarlung Records (2020). He regularly conducts and collaborates with Pacific Symphony, Berkshire Choral International, and Yarlung Records. His extensive credits also include recording for Sony Classical and guest conducting Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Bath Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Tesserae Baroque, and Freies Landesorchester Bayern. Istad has prepared choruses for such renowned conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Carl St.Clair, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams, John Mauceri, Keith Lockhart, Nicholas McGegan, Vasilly Sinaisky, Sir Andrew Davis, Bramwell Tovey, Carl St. Clair, Eugene Kohn, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, and Robert Moody.
Istad and the University Singers travel throughout the world and have presented concert tours of Rwanda & South Africa (2024), Australia (2022), Spain (2019), and Scandinavia, the Baltics and Russia (2017). They have performed at numerous regional and national ACDA conferences including the 2024, 2018, and 2012 ACDA Western Division Conferences and the 2013 ACDA National Conference. They also performed for the 2013 National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference. Other highlights include a 2015 residency and performances in Paris, France, engagements at the 2012 Ottobeuren and Eingen Festivals of Music in Germany, a 2010 performance for UNESCO in Pisa, Italy, and a 2008 performance at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary.
Dr. Christopher Peterson is Professor of Music at California State University, Fullerton where he directs the Concert Choir and the CSUF Singing Titans, and teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in choral music education. In May of 2019 he was honored as the annual recipient of the CSUF Carol Barnes Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2018 he received the CMEA Outstanding Music Educator Award for the Southeastern Section of California. In his thirty years as a music educator, Dr. Peterson has taught in elementary, middle school, high school, church, community, festival, and collegiate settings. He is also a published author, editor, composer, and choral arranger for Hal Leonard Music Publishers. His choral methods college textbook Resonance: The Art of the Choral Music Educator was published by Pavane Publishing in 2021. Peterson has served as State Choral Representative and Southern Section President for the California Music Educators Association (CMEA), as well as the Western Division Representative for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) Council for Choral Education. He has also served the California Choral Directors Association in various offices, and is the current CCDA President-Elect. He has been invited to teach, judge, and conduct choirs in more than thirty US states, five Canadian Provinces, and nine countries including China, England, Sweden, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, and Holland, and has conducted All-State Choirs across the nation including Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, and California. Dr. Peterson also holds the position of Director of Music at Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, CA. In his “spare time” Chris sings bass with the Masters of Harmony, nine-time International Men’s Chorus Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Dr. Peterson earned the Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Southern Maine, and the Master of Music in Choral Conducting performance from the University of Maine. He earned the Doctor of Philosophy in Choral Music Education and Conducting from Florida State University where he studied with Rodney Eichenberger, Andre Thomas, and Clifford Madsen.