Dr. Doug McConnell is Professor Emeritus of Compositon and Music for the School of Music and Theater at Heidelberg University. Dr. McConnell has enjoyed  an active career as a composer, teacher and administrator. His compositions have been performed throughout the U.S. and internationally, including Canada, England, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Russia. Doug’s teaching career included appointments at Heidelberg University, Mississippi State University, St. Mary’s College and the University of Dayton. His graduate degrees in Music Composition/Theory were completed at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati). 

 

Doug has written for a variety of performing mediums, but he especially enjoys writing for voices; his work in this area includes a variety of works for choirs. He has also composed several song cycles and collections, including his Langston's Lot series, two separate seven-movement chamber works for voice, alto saxophone and piano, based on the poetry of Langston Hughes. His song collections include pieces based on the poetry of Sara Teasdale and William Reyer, Professor Emeritus of English at Heidelberg. 

 

Dr. McConnell has composed for the theater as well; his work includes incidental music/sound design for several plays, most recently for the Heidelberg productions of Eurydice,  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Greeks: Oedipus/Lysistrata. His most extensive composition is his opera Lily, a 90-minute opera for children and their families, based on a short story by Walter Wangerin Jr. Doug’s compositions for instrumental/keyboard forces include two piano trios and solo/chamber works for oboe, saxophone, flute, guitar, trumpet, trombone, organ, piano and accordion. Please see the Compositions tab on this website for additional details and score samples. 

 

Doug has also been an active church musician throughout his career, having served as choir director on several different music staffs for Lutheran and UCC congregations.  His sacred music includes choral works and hymn-based organ compositions. For more information, please consult the Compositions tab on this website. 

 

Dr. McConnell’s efforts as a composer and teacher have been honored on several occasions. He is a previous winner of the annual composition prize sponsored by the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters in recognition of his chamber composition, Songs of the Beloved. He has also won honorable mention in competitions sponsored by The Roger Wagner International Choral Competition and the American Guild of Organists.

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Dr. McConnell has received commissions from the Music Teachers National Association in Ohio, Mississippi and Wyoming in addition to commissioned works from solo performers and ensembles. He has been the recipient of several teaching honors, including a Faculty Achievement Award for Undergraduate Teaching from the Mississippi State Alumni Association and a Grisham Faculty Achievement Award. Dr. McConnell is a past recipient of Heidelberg University’s Distinguished Research Award for his work as a composer. He has also been a recipient of the Frost-Kalnow Scholar in the Humanities award at Heidelberg University for his teaching in music and film studies. 

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