As a member of the Westminster Choir College faculty, Dr. Amanda Quist conducts the Westminster Chapel Choir and Westminster Kantorei and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting.  During her work with the Symphonic Choir, she collaborated with artists such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, and Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic.  She also recently commissioned and premiered new works for the women of the Westminster Symphonic Choir and Westminster Festival Orchestra by composers Ola Gjeilo and Tarik O’Regan.  As conductor of Westminster Kantorei, Dr. Quist will bring Tenebrae, a professional British ensemble, to the Westminster campus as well as the La Spirita viol consort.  Dr. Quist is director of the Westminster Vocal Institute and a member of the summer faculty for the Westminster Choral Festival and Westminster Chamber Choir programs.  Prior to her appointment at Westminster, Dr. Quist was director of choral activities at San José State University.

Dr. Quist earned her DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas and her BM and MM in Music Education and Choral Conducting, summa cum laude, from Western Michigan University. Dr. Quist has received numerous awards as a teacher and conductor, including the prestigious James Mulholland National Choral Fellowship, the Texas Choral Directors Association Professional Scholarship and the Audrey Davidson Early Music Award.  She has held positions on the faculties of Western Michigan University, Michigan State University and the University of North Texas, and she served as associate conductor for the Denton Bach Society in Texas.  Before pursing her graduate degrees, Dr. Quist taught in the Michigan public and private school systems, and was she conductor of the North American Choral Company’s Midwest Chorale, a professional touring children’s choir. 

An active adjudicator and clinician, Dr. Quist regularly conducts honor choirs and presents at music conferences.  Upcoming events include the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Regional Honor Choir, the Middle School Men’s “Vocal Thunder” Honor Choir, and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Southwestern Division Conference’s SSAA Honor Choir.  She will serve as an adjudicator for the Pennsylvania ACDA Conference conducting competition and Northern Arizona University’s Madrigal Festival.  She is the National ACDA R&S Chair for Youth and Student Activities.

A noted mezzo-soprano, Dr. Quist has recently performed with the Santa Clara Chorale and Symphony Silicon Valley in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fuma Sacra in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, and the Westminster Festival Chorus and Orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem in D and J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor.  She will appear with Princeton Pro Musica this year as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem in D.  Her research work includes the study of voice science and pedagogy in the choral setting.