Brian J. Winnie, D.M.A., is the Director of Choral Activities at Western Illinois University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate choral conducting and choral literature courses, as well as conducts the "flagship ensemble," the University Singers. Previous to this position he served as the Director of Choral Activities & Voice, and chair of the music department at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS, and also was the Artistic Director and founder of the Southwestern College Choral Union. 

An active festival conductor and adjudicator, Dr. Winnie has been artist-in-residence in Ekaterinburg, Russia and has worked with festival choirs throughout the United States in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Washington, Kansas, and Alaska. Also an active conference presenter, he has presented at State NAfME, State & Regional ACDA, and International Conferences. He has published articles in the Voice and Speech Review, Choral Journal, Voice Foundation Newsletter, International Choral Bulletin, and ChorTeach, and is the editor and contributing author to The Voice Teacher's Cookbook: Creative Recipes for Teachers of Singing and The Choral Conductor's Companion both published by Meredith Music Publications.

Under his direction, the University Singers have performed at the Illinois Music Educators Convention and were selected as finalists for the 2019-2020 American Prize in Choral Performance and Performance of American Music (University/College Division). He has been the recipient of numerous awards including Second Place Winner of the 2019-2020 American Prize in Choral Conducting (Schools Division), "Exemplary Teacher Award" at Southwestern College, "Outstanding Young Conductor Award," presented by the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and was nominated for the “Excellence in Teaching Award” at the University of Washington.

Previous to his tenure in higher education, Dr. Winnie taught for seven years in public education at both the middle and high school levels. He currently serves on the Editorial Board for the Voice and Speech Review, is the College/University Repertoire and Resources chair for Illinois-ACDA and is on the board for Estill Voice International.

A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Winnie received his B.S. in Music Education from the Pennsylvania State University, Master of Music Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington, where he studied with Geoffrey Boers & Giselle Wyers. Additionally, he is a certified Estill Master Trainer and Estill Mentor & Course Instructor of Estill Voice Training. His main research interests involve the integration of gesture into voice training within the choral rehearsal and the development of a 21st century choral pedagogy that encompasses all styles of music and is based in voice science research.