Walton Music Editorial Review Board

The Walton Editorial Review Board consists of esteemed conductors from across the country. Meeting four times per year, the Board offers insight and expertise in the review of submissions which helps to shape the Walton catalog.

Information about submissions can be found here.

Philip Brunelle, Chair

Philip Brunelle, artistic director and founder of VocalEssence, is an internationally renowned conductor, choral scholar, and visionary. He has made his lifelong mission the promotion of the choral art in all its forms, especially rarely heard works of the past and worthwhile new music. Under his leadership, VocalEssence has commissioned more than 175 works to date. Philip has conducted symphonies (New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra, among others) as well as choral festivals and operas on six continents. He is editor of two choral series for Boosey & Hawkes and chairman of the review committee for Walton Music. Philip is also Organist-Choirmaster at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.

Over the past decade Philip has been deeply involved with the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). He served as president of the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music, held in Minneapolis in 2002. He is a Vice President of the IFCM Board and most recently served as Executive Director for the 2014 World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, South Korea.

Philip is the recipient of the Weston H. Noble Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the North Central American Choral Directors Association; the F. Melius Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award, American Choral Directors Association-Minnesota Chapter's highest honor; and the Michael Korn Founder's Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, Chorus America's highest lifetime achievement award.

Philip holds five honorary doctorates and has been recognized for his commitment to choral music by Norway (Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit), the United Kingdom (Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire), Hungary (Kodály Medal), Sweden (Royal Order of the Polar Star) and Mexico (Ohtli Recognition Award).

Lynne Gackle

Lynne Gackle is Professor of Ensembles and Associate Director of Choral Activities at Baylor University (Waco, TX) where she conducts the Baylor Bella Voce (Select Women's Ensemble) and the Baylor Concert Choir. Dr. Gackle is an active clinician, conductor, and adjudicator for choral clinics, honor choirs, workshops, and festivals throughout the United States and abroad.

Dr. Gackle has conducted all-state choirs in 30 states, several divisional ACDA honor choirs, and two ACDA national honor choirs. Her choirs have performed at American Choral Directors Association state, division, and national conferences and the Music Educators National Conference Biennial Convention. Internationally, she conducted the Australian National Choral Association's High School Women's Choir in Brisbane, the Alberta Choral Federation's High School Honour Choir in Calgary, the DoDDS-Europe Honors Music Festival Mixed Choir (Wiesbaden, Germany), the Haydn Youth Festival in Vienna, and the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) International Women's Honor Choir in Beijing, China.

Dr. Gackle has served as president of ACDA-Florida and ACDA Southern Division. The Florida ACDA chapter awarded her the Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Service Award for dedicated service, leadership, and excellence. She has also served in various R & S roles within ACDA, including National R & S chair for Children's Choirs as well as Southern Division chair for Women's Choirs.

Currently, Dr. Gackle serves on the editorial board for the Choral Journal. She is the editor of Choral Artistry for the Singer with Walton Music and the Lynne Gackle Choral Series for Colla Voce Music, Inc. She has written several articles for the Choral Journal and contributed to the MENC publication, Music at the Middle Level: Building Strong Programs. Dr. Gackle is the author of Finding Ophelia's Voice, Opening Ophelia's Heart: Nurturing the Adolescent Female Voice, published by Heritage Music Press, and was a contributing author to the GIA publication, Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success. She was also awarded Baylor's Outstanding Faculty Award in Research in 2012.

Dr. Gackle is a member of ACDA, MENC, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Choral Directors Association, ISME, and NATS. She received her BME from Louisiana State University and her MM and Ph.D. from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Joe Miller

Joe Miller is conductor of two of America's most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

In addition to his responsibilities at Westminster Choir College, Dr. Miller is artistic director for choral activities for the renowned Spoleto Festival USA. His 2014 debut performance, a staged production of John Adams El Niño with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Westminster Choir, and an international cast, earned critical acclaim. The Financial Times praised "the driving minimalistic iterations of Adams' score securely projected under Joe Miller's direction." The New York Times described the performance as "superb. Meticulously prepared…the chorus was remarkable for its precision, unanimity, and power."

His 2014-2015 season with the Westminster Choir includes a concert tour of California, several national radio broadcasts, and their annual residency at the Spoleto Festival USA. Dr. Miller has made three recordings with the Westminster Choir. Their latest CD, The Heart's Reflection: Music of Daniel Elder, has been hailed by Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Notes as "simply astounding." His debut recording with the Westminster Choir, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ magazine and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which described the Westminster Choir as "the gold standard for academic choirs in America."

As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Dr. Miller has collaborated with some of the world's leading orchestras and conductors. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, "Joe Miller's Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose." Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel.

Dr. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton.

Reflecting on the role that choral music plays in the nation's cultural life, he said at a Chorus America conference, "Choral music in the United States has seen unprecedented growth in the past several decades. The influence of our past leaders is part of our fabric, but we must seize this time to create a new vision based on the foundation that has been laid before us. We must keep the traditions but be willing to change in order to build a vision for the future."

Dr. Miller earned a master's degree and a doctorate in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. He holds a bachelor's degree in music education and voice from the University of Tennessee.

Jo Scurlock-Dillard

Jo Scurlock-Dillard received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts in 1975 from Stephen F. Austin State University. She taught choral music and theatre in Texas and California for 35 years before retiring from the classroom.

Jo is a Past President of the Texas Music Educators Association, and she also served two years as the Vice President in charge of the Vocal Division. She has served on many music advisory committees, such as: UIL Sightreading Committee, UIL Prescribed Music List Committee, Chair of the SWACDA Repertoire and Standards Committee for Women's Choirs, Chair of the TCDA Ways and Means Committee, and the UIL Music Advisory.

In 2000, Jo was named as the recipient of the Southwestern Bell UIL Sponsor of the Year for her work with students in choir. She was also named SFASU's Music Alumnus of the Year.

Choirs under Jo's direction have been chosen to perform for the Texas Music Educator's Association, Southwestern Division of the American Choral Association, and the National American Choral Director's Association conferences. Her choirs have also been invited to sing in Paris, Budapest, Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Florence, Rome, Amsterdam, and Bruges.

Jo continues to be active as a choral conductor, advocate, clinician, consultant, Texas Tech University Student Teacher Supervisor, and teacher mentor/consultant for the Harlandale School District in San Antonio.