Donald l. neuen

Don Neuen was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1933. At age 10, he moved with his family to his Father's hometown, Berne, Indiana, a small Swiss-Mennonite community with a population of 2,300. In that town, the largest Mennonite church in the nation existed, with a weekly attendance of 1,500 parishioners and featuring a Choral Society of 200 singers. All of these elements were ideal environments for Don to gain a rich foundation in great music.

After 60 years of choral conducting in high school, collegiate, church, and community choruses, Neuen retired in 2014 after 20 years on the University of California (UCLA) faculty. UCLA presented Neuen with the prestigious "Distinguished Professorship" award (2009) for delivering an all-campus speech during his final year at UCLA body selected h before retirement.

In 2017, Neuen retired as the conductor of the internationally televised “Hour of Power Choir,” originally the Crystal Cathedral in California, with Pastor Dr. Robert Schuller. The program was viewed by millions worldwide, including Channel 1 in Moscow, Russia.

Neuen's alma mater, Ball State University (Indiana), has awarded him two Outstanding Alumnus awards, an Outstanding Career award, and an Honorary Doctorate.

Neuen sang professionally with the internationally acclaimed Robert Shaw Chorale (1967) and, in 1970, became Robert Shaw’s Assistant Conductor and Director of Choral Activities for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. His additional orchestral experience includes positions with the Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Symphony Orchestra, the Georgia State University Orchestra, and the Knoxville (Tennessee) Symphony Orchestra. On its U.S. tour, he has conducted professional orchestras in the U. S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Spain, and the Russian Chamber Orchestra Kremlin.

Before his tenure at UCLA, Neuen was the Director of Choral Activities for the highly acclaimed Eastman School of Music (NY) for 12 years. He also held additional choral conducting positions with the Universities of Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgia, and Ball State.

Guest conducting activities included Europe, Asia, Mexico, Canada, and nearly every state in the U.S. His major American concerts have been performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and The Hollywood Bowl. Guest conducting and lecturing invitations have been extended from state and national conventions of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) and the Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC). He has also been featured as conductor and lecturer for state and national church music workshops, university music school’s choral ensembles, and graduate conducting student seminars.

Don authored a music conducting textbook entitled “Choral Concepts” and has written many music-based articles for state and national music journals and magazines.

Throughout his life, Don has consistently contributed to the arts, non-profit organizations, community musical ensembles (orchestras and choirs), and collegiate graduate students needing financial assistance. He believes we could live in a world of peace if all peoples embraced the Golden Rule: “To do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”