Photo courtesy of Blacksburg Master Chorale

Dwight Bigler

| Amy Matzke-Fawcett

BLACKSBURG -- The Blacksburg Master Chorale and Virginia Tech's Music Department have both hired Dwight Bigler as their choral director.

A native of Idaho, Bigler hadn't thought of coming to Virginia until he started looking for a long-term directing position while serving as interim director of Choral Activities at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

"When I heard about the position [at Virginia Tech], I thought it's a strong university with a big student body and a fine music program with a strong musical tradition," Bigler said.

Bigler then became involved with the Master Chorale because Tech's last director of choral activities, Brian Gendren, has also been the group's director.

"When I heard he'd been involved, I asked about it and they invited me to apply," Bigler said.

Being the director for both groups keeps up a tradition of collaboration between the groups, he said. Sometimes students will perform with the Master Chorale, or the groups will perform concerts together.

The Master Chorale is a group of about 70 community singers.

Linda Bernick, co-president of the Master Chorale and member since 1990, said each director brings his own style to the group, and so far, Bigler has bought a new focus to the group with his attention to the intention of the pieces.

"He makes [the music] come alive in the best way," Bernick said.

The group's first concert of the season, "Motets, Madrigals and Mayhem," is Bigler's debut with the group. He has already directed Tech's fall concert.

Master Chorale members are looking forward to Bigler's experience as both a director and a pianist, which gives him a range of perspective, Bernick said.

Bigler said he's taking this year to get settled in his new roles but plans on changing things up in the future by incorporating his own pieces into the shows. The Tech men's chorus has already performed one of his compositions.

"I'm giving myself this year to get to know the programs, but once I get my feet on the ground and a better handle on things, I have a lot of ideas to contribute," he said. "I love new things, I love collaborations and new ideas."

Bigler has a has a bachelor of music in piano performance and a master's of music in choral conducting, both from Brigham Young University, and a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.

He said he's always wanted a career in music. Bigler, now 35, can even point to the day he knew he wanted to work with music.

When he was 5, his family got a piano in their home.

His mother was trying to teach him to write, so they wrote an entry in a diary as a learning exercise.

"The entry from that day that says 'We got a piano today. I'm so excited,' " he said.