Brandon DiNoto, MM

Brandon Chase Di Noto is an American conductor, vocalist, educator, and composer. He currently serves on the Department of Music faculty at Azusa Pacific University, where he directs the Bel Canto Women’s Choir and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral music, conducting, and musicology. He also serves as assistant director of Sterling Ensemble Los Angeles.

Di Noto has studied conducting with Lucinda Carver, Grant Gershon, Cristian Grases, Daniel Jackson, Michelle Jensen, Larry Livingston, Troy Quinn, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Tram Sparks, and Nick Strimple; voice with Isabel Bayrakdarian, J. Craig Johnson, Amy Mein, and Michael Sokol; and composition with Donald Crockett, Neal Desby, Veronika Krausas, Victor Labenske, Z. Randall Stroope, Frank Ticheli, and Dale Trumbore.

He has taught and directed music programs across K–12, collegiate, graduate, community, and professional settings throughout Southern California, including the Music Academy of the West, San Diego Opera, Santa Barbara Choral Society, UC Santa Barbara, Classical Academy High School, and Maranatha Christian Schools. He has prepared choruses for performances with Joyce DiDonato, Sangeeta Kaur, Hila Plitmann, and Voctave.

An advocate for new music, Di Noto conducted the world premiere of One Heart by GRAMMY-winning composer Danaë Xanthe Vlasse, commissioned Ubi Caritas et Amor (Deus Ibi Est) and The Sail by Lauren Biggs (winner of the 2024 Regional ACDA Raymond Brock Prize), and led the U.S. premiere of How to Fall in Love with Yourself by Dale Trumbore. As a classically trained baritone, he has performed major roles in oratorios and operettas across the U.S. and Europe.

His recent engagements include Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Phil’s Noon to Midnight Festival, ACDA National and Regional Conferences, Comic-Con 2022, the International Musical Eisteddfod, the 2023 NCCO National Conference, and several recordings including Gregorian Meditations, Echoes of Grace, and In the Bleak Midwinter with USC Thornton Chamber Singers and Sterling Ensemble Los Angeles.

Di Noto’s compositions have been performed by APU’s Bel Canto Women’s Choir, Choral Arts Initiative, Exilio, and Sterling Ensemble Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing a DMA in Choral Music with academic and minor fields in musicology, composition, and vocal performance at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he serves as a teaching assistant. He holds an MM in Choral Music from USC and dual BAs in Music and Managerial and Organizational Communication from Point Loma Nazarene University. He resides in Los Angeles and enjoys cooking, hiking, traveling, water sports, and time with loved ones.

Education

• MM, Choral Music, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, 2021
• BA, Managerial and Organizational Communication, Point Loma Nazarene University, 2019
• BA, Music, Point Loma Nazarene University, 2019

Academic Area

• School of the Arts

Expertise

• Conducting (Choral)
• Vocal Performance
• Music History
• Composition

Courses Taught

• GMUS 509A – Conducting I: Choral
• GMUS 588 – Ensemble
• MUS 246 – Bel Canto Women‘s Choir
• MUS 352 – Baroque, Classical, and Early Romantic Music Literature
• MUS 361 – Introduction to Conducting
• MUS 362 – Choral Conducting