Cameron LaBarr is director of choral studies and the Clif and Gail Smart professor in music at Missouri State University where is the conductor of the Missouri State University Chorale, Men’s Chorus, Chamber Choir and Grand Chorus. Additionally, Dr. LaBarr leads a comprehensive graduate choral conducting program. He earned the M.M. and D.M.A. from the University of North Texas where he studied with Jerry McCoy and Richard Sparks. He has completed further study in choral music and conducting with Simon Carrington and Alice Parker.
Dr. LaBarr has an international reputation as conductor, clinician, and choral juror across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and serves as board member for the International Federation for Choral Music. Dr. LaBarr’s recent engagements include concerts and events in Indonesia, France, Chile, Argentina, South Korea, South Africa, and Spain. Dr. LaBarr curates two choral series with Santa Barbara Music Publishing and Walton Music, where he champions emerging and established composers, and is additionally published by Colla Voce, Choristers Guild, Walton Music, and GIA Publications. Commercially released recordings can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. Dr. LaBarr is co-author of the book The Melodic Voice: Conversations with Alice Parker.
He has previously held university choral positions at Lee University (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the University of North Texas. Dr. LaBarr has been awarded conducting fellowships at the Yale International Choral Festival, the Sarteano (Italy) Chamber Choir Workshop, and was named a Salzburg Fellow in April 2014, where he participated in the Salzburg Seminar: Conflict Transformation through Peace-Building and the Arts.
Choirs under the direction of Dr. LaBarr have been selected for performance at the Tennessee Music Education Association Conference, Tennessee ACDA Conference, Missouri Music Educators Association Conference, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, National Collegiate Choral Organization, National ACDA, Southwest ACDA, Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses National Seminar, the China International Chorus Festival, the IFCM World Voices Conference the Tolosa Choral Contest (Basque Country, Spain), and the Jeju International Choral Festival (South Korea). Recently, Dr. LaBarr has been a jury member for the Asia Grand Prix, the Bali International Choral Festival (Indonesia), the China International Choral Festival, and the Tolosa Choral Contest (Basque Country, Spain). Dr. LaBarr has served as artistic director of international choral festivals in the Czech Republic, Italy, France, and Ireland, and has conducted concerts of the MSU Chorale in South Africa (2016 and 2022), Scandinavia (2018), China (2018), Spain (2021), Canada (2023), and across the United States.
