floreen
Photo by Arthur Paxton

 

A 36-year era in Rutgers music will come to a close May 3 when Dr. John Eric Floreen conducts the Rutgers University Chorus in its 2015 spring concert. Floreen will take his last bow as chorus director that day, then begin a year’s sabbatical before retiring in 2016. 

His final concert is at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3, in St. Mary’s Abbey Church, 528 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark; tickets are $25/$10/$5.

Back in 1979, when Floreen first assumed the job of chorus director, there were barely any students in the student chorus.  But under his leadership, the Chorus has flourished, performing nine international tours as well as scores of concerts on campus and in the Greater Newark area, delighting audiences on two continents.  He and the chorus also have released six CD recordings of their performances, helping to make their talents known internationally.

Floreen, a Denville, N.J., resident, is a music professor in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media, and coordinator of the undergraduate music program.

chorus in concert
Photo by Arthur Paxton

Assistant Conductor Susan McAdoo also will be stepping down in May.  She has taught music at RU-N for the past 30 years and has served as assistant conductor since 1997. 

During his distinguished career as a teacher and scholar, Floreen has received numerous fellowships and grants, including three Fulbright Scholar Awards for Music Research in Austria.  In 2000 and 2002 he conducted choirs and taught conducting at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Chengdu, China. In recognition of his assistance in organizing a "Western type" choral program, the Sichuan Conservatory conferred on Floreen the title of Honorary Professor of Music.

Floreen's edition of Hummel's Mass in B-flat, published by Oxford University Press, received the American Choral Directors Association Award for Excellence in Research and Editing.

Floreen has served on the Music Panel of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and has also made two CD recordings with Westminster Choir College's Oratorio Choir, Princeton, N.J.

Read more

JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS; A Chorus and a Historic Cemetery

Musical adventures in China

Spain Concert, Part 1

Spain Concert, Part II

 

For more information: Carla Capizzi, 973/353-5263, or capizzi@rutgers.edu