Michelle Jensen, DMA

Assistant Professor; Director of Choral Activities, Conductor of Chamber Singers; Choral Conducting

Fax: (626) 969-7419

Office Location: East Campus, Warren Music Center

Michelle Jensen, DMA, is a #1 Billboard-charting choral conductor, clinician, and educator. At Azusa Pacific University, she serves as director of choral studies, director of graduate choral conducting, and conductor of the Chamber Singers and Oratorio Choirs. She has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California, where she earned her BM, MME in Music Education, and DMA in Choral Music. While at USC, her studies in harp and voice led to participation in both the Thornton Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Singers under the direction of William Dehning, Paul Salamunovich, and Jo-Michael Scheibe. Jensen has also studied conducting with Charlene Archibeque and Lucinda Carver, and composition and arranging with Morten Lauridsen.

The founding conductor of the APU Chamber Singers, Jensen has led performances on four continents. In her long-standing collaboration with Eric Whitacre, she served as choir master for several presentations of Paradise Lost, conducted the Eric Whitacre Honor Choir on an Italy performance tour (2007), prepared presentations for Stephen Schwartz’s ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop at Disney Studios (2004), and commissioned This Marriage, which premiered internationally at the Sydney Opera House (2005). She has conducted numerous honor choirs, including the 2019 Connecticut All-State Honor Choir. In addition to her stage work, she is also active in the studio, conducting sessions for artists including Lady Gaga.

Jensen is also artistic director and conductor of Sterling Ensemble Los Angeles, a semi-professional choir in residence at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Pasadena. Since she founded the choir in 2018, they have charted #1 on Billboard Traditional Classical, won multiple prestigious awards, released two albums, headlined an International choral festival, performed at multiple high-profile conferences, including ACDA National Conference in Cincinnati (2023), and collaborated with numerous GRAMMY®-winning artists.

She continues to serve as a clinician, adjudicator, choreographer, and guest artist throughout the United States and internationally.

Education

DMA, Choral Conducting, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
MME, Music Education, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
BM, Music, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music

Academic Area

School of the Arts

Expertise

Arts Management
Music Education
Choral Studies
Conducting

Courses Taught

GMUS 511 – Applied Conducting
GMUS 518A – Choral Conducting
GMUS 518B – Choral Conducting Literature
GMUS 518C – Choral Performance Practice, Rehearsal and Techniques
GMUS 518D – Professional and Current Issues in Choral Conducting
MUS 170 – Oratorio
MUS 206 – Introduction to Music Education
MUS 281 – Chamber Singers
MUS 352 – Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Music Literature
MUS 361 – Introduction to Conducting
MUS 362 – Choral Conducting
MUS 405 – Choral Music Methods
MUS 456 – Choral Literature