Erik Jones (b. 1971) is the Director of Choral Activities at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where he directs the Chamber Singers, the Masterworks Chorale, the Women’s Camerata, and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Master Singers of Virginia, which won the 2012 Choral Excellence Award for Most Creative Programming. He received his Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in vocal music education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Erik went on to receive his Master of Music degree in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati, and his Doctoral degree in choral conducting at the University of Maryland at College Park.


While his conducting takes him all over the Washington, DC region performing music from medieval times onward, he has a particular love for a cappella choral music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Master Singers have been invited to perform at numerous festivals and conferences, including a 2005 summer conference of the American Choral Directors Association. Erik is also an avid choral composer, with over twenty works to his credit, most of which have been premiered by the Master Singers. Erik is in high demand at festivals and competitions around the Washington, D.C. region.


Erik has published numerous articles, including the cover story on Veljo Tormis in the April 2005 Choral Journal and an examination of rhythmic layering and tempo relationships in the Bach B Minor Mass, published in the Spring 2008 edition of the American Choral Review. He presented lectures at the 2006, 2008, and 2010 ACDA Southern Division conferences.

For more information on Erik, visit choralmusic.org.