Musician
Conductor
Educator
Aaron Knodle, DMA
Aaron Knodle is Director of Worship and Music at Bethany Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake where he plays the church’s Clarence Agnes Carlson Memorial pipe organ and conducts the Bethany Choir and Bell Canto Ringers.
Aaron was previously appointed Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education and Director of Choral Activities at Louisiana Tech University where he conducted the Chamber Singers and University Concert Choir, and taught courses in conducting and choral music education. There his research interests included historical performance practice (especially in the performance of the music of J.S. Bach), models for collaborative teaching in the choral setting, and staging concert works.
Prior to his position at Louisiana Tech University, Aaron was appointed Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities and Voice at Southwestern College, a private liberal arts college in Winfield, Kansas, where he conducted a variety of choirs and smaller vocal ensembles, and taught conducting, musical theatre, and voice. Previous to Southwestern College, Aaron worked as the assistant conductor of the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Choir, a graduate-level choral ensemble. He also worked for two (2) years as the assistant conductor for the Salisbury Singers of Worcester, MA, and taught for several years as a high school choir director in South Dakota.
An experienced organist with a specialization in liturgical music, Aaron has held appointments as choir director and/or organist at a number of churches in Ohio, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda – National Music Honor Society and holds memberships in various chapters of the American Choral Directors Association and the American Guild of Organists.
Education:
BA in Music Education, Luther College, 2011
MSM in Choral Conducting, Boston University, 2016
DMA in Choral Conducting, University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, 2018