Kent Hatteberg

Kent E. Hatteberg is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Louisville, where he conducts the Collegiate Chorale, Cardinal Singers, and University Chorus, and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting and literature courses. He received the Bachelor of Music degree in piano and voice summa cum laude from the University of Dubuque and the master’s and doctorate in choral conducting from The University of Iowa, where he studied conducting with Don V Moses and conducted the renowned Old Gold Singers.

Named a Fulbright Scholar in 1990, Dr. Hatteberg studied conducting and choral-orchestral literature in Berlin, Germany with Uwe Gronostay (conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Choir and Professor for Conducting at the Hochschule der Künste), pursued research on the works of Felix Mendelssohn, and sang in the Berlin Philharmonic Choir. His doctoral thesis contains urtext editions of Mendelssohn’s Gloria and Große Festmusik zum Dürerfest, two previously unpublished works for chorus and orchestra. In 1997 he conducted the world premiere of the Gloria on the University of Louisville campus. The Große Festmusik was given its first modern performance at the Konzerthaus in Berlin on November 10, 2000, with the score provided by Dr. Hatteberg. He has lectured on Mendelssohn’s early works in the United States and Germany.

Dr. Hatteberg made his international professional conducting debut in 1993 as a guest-conductor with the Nederlands Kamerkoor, a professional choir in Amsterdam. He is co-director of the Kentucky Ambassadors of Music, a program that affords students from across the state of Kentucky the opportunity to perform and tour in Europe. He was the choral director for the Iowa Ambassadors of Music in 1988 and 1990.

Dr. Hatteberg is active nationally and internationally as a guest-conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. He has conducted numerous All-States and Honor Choirs in the United States, and recently served on the International Jury at the Tolosa Choral Contest in Tolosa, Spain. He serves as Chorus Master for the Louisville Orchestra and has prepared choruses for performances with the Choral Arts Society, Kentucky Opera, and the Louisville Orchestra.

Dr. Hatteberg taught at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids from 1983 to 1989. In that time the Washington High School Concert Choir and/or Madrigal Singers were chosen to perform at the North Central ACDA Convention in Minneapolis (1988), the National MENC Convention in Indianapolis (1988), the North Central MENC Convention in Columbus (1989), the North Central MENC Convention in Minneapolis (1987), the National MENC Convention in Anaheim (1986), and the state IMEA convention in Des Moines (1989, 1985). The Show Choir “Momentum” won or placed at numerous show choir competitions. He taught secondary choral music in Solon, Iowa from 1977-1980.

After fulfilling his Fulbright Scholarship in 1990-1991, Dr. Hatteberg served five years as Director of Choral Activities at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas (1991-1996). He conducted the Sam Houston Chorale in performances for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention in San Antonio in 1995 and for the MENC National Convention in Kansas City in 1996.

Dr. Hatteberg was named a University of Louisville Faculty Scholar in 2002. In 2004 he was named the Kentucky Music Educators Association College/University Teacher of the Year. His biography appears in the newly-published International Who’s Who in Choral Music. In 2008 he received the Robert K. Baar Award for Choral Excellence from the Kentucky Choral Directors Association. The University of Dubuque, his undergraduate institution, awarded him the Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2008.

Through his work as overseer of the Margaret Comstock Choral Endowment Fund in the School of Music, Dr. Hatteberg has commissioned new music, hosted international choral ensembles in the Margaret Comstock Concert Series, recorded compact discs with the Cardinal Singers, and afforded students in the choral program the opportunity to attend and participate in choral events nationally and internationally.  Email Kent Hatteberg

HONORS:

Fulbright Scholar – Berlin, Germany – 1990 – 1991

University of Louisville Scholar – 2001, renewed 2004, 2007

Kentucky ACDA Robert K. Baar Award for Choral Excellence – 2008

University of Dubuque Professional Achievement Award – 2008

International Who’s Who in Choral Music – 2007

Kentucky KMEA College/University Teacher of the Year – 2004

KMEA District XII College/University Teacher of the Year – 2003

School of Music Distinguished Teaching Professor Award – 2005

School of Music Distinguished Teaching Professor Award – 2004

Musica Mundi, an organization that sponsors numerous choral festivals and competitions internationally, compiled a World Ranking List of the 500 top choirs from over 3000 choirs that have competed at such events. Musica Mundi assigned point values to choirs who have competed based on diplomas awarded and category placement. According to their calculations, the University of Louisville Cardinal Singers ranked second in the world among all types of choirs, with a point total of 1,173, and ranked first in the category of Mixed Choirs. This information, along with an explanation of the point system, is available at http://www.musica-mundi.com/index.php?id=923. – Summer 2006

Winner of the Marie Straecker-Daelen Prize: conductor’s prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary choral work ( Ich bin das Brot des Lebens by Wolfram Buchenberg) at the 9 th International Chamber Choir Competition, Marktoberdorf, Germany – May 2005

Winner of a special prize for the outstanding interpretation of a world premiere: Laudate pueri, Dominum by Vytautas Miškinis, at the Harmonie Festival, Lindenholzhausen, Germany – May 2005

Music ensembles in the School of Music were cited by the University of Louisville as one of ten “Official Programs of National Excellence.”

Named University of Louisville “Faculty Favorite,” honored at “A Taste of Excellence: The Teaching and Learning Smorgasbord,” sponsored by the Delphi Center – 2006 and 2007

Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society

Patrons of the Performing Arts Hall of Fame, Washington High School, Cedar Rapids, IA – 1998

Outstanding Young Man of America – 1986