Senior Division

NCC Associate Artistic Director Dr. Pamela Blackstone is a renowned and respected conductor on the national and international choral scene, where her expertise and innovative approach to singing have empowered performers of all ages to achieve the highest level of excellence in musicianship, performance, vocal technique and artistic creativity. Dr. Blackstone began her training as a pianist, violinist, singer, dancer and choreographer. Exemplifying unique musical and technical mastery, she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Kansas (KU), a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance (UMKC), and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Following her passion for teaching, Dr. Blackstone has served as the Director of Choral Activities at Westark College in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and emerged as one of the Midwest region’s most sought-after choral clinicians, judges, and show-choir choreographers. She was also the Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles-based Angeles Chorale, and has taught vocal and choral music at UCLA, Santa Ana College, and church organizations across the nation. Her conducting appearances include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall and The Broad Stage, with international appearances in Oxford and London, England; Beijing and Xian, China; Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy, including the Vatican City; Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest; as well as the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Seoul, South Korea, and Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. This summer’s tour will include Portugal and Spain with performances at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Recent musical collaborations include projects with Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, Nico Muhly, Meredith Monk and Caroline Polachek.

Throughout her career, her long-standing philosophy has been “performance excellence through personal excellence.” Combined with her expertise in the healing arts profession, Dr. Blackstone has advocated for an integrated, holistic approach to music education that embodies an eclectic array of modalities and methodologies, enriching her students mentally, emotionally and kinesthetically. In addition, Dr. Blackstone’s awe-inspiring energy revered as “positively contagious” has established her as an invaluable vocal instructor and in-demand performance coach across the nation. Recent students have been accepted with scholarships at top-level programs including the University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Mannes School of Music, Northwestern University, Boston Conservatory, Berklee, Oberlin, University of Michigan, Peabody Institute, Indiana University, Stanford and Harvard.

Dr. Kristen Simpson was originally trained as a licensed civil engineer before pursuing advanced music degrees in choral music to facilitate a career change to music. She has taught courses at Santa Ana College, Texas State University and the University of Southern California. Prior to joining the NCC, Simpson was the assistant director and collaborative pianist at Villa Park High School, director of music at La Canada United Methodist Church, director of the Ebell Chorale, and co-conductor of choir at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA).  In addition to her work as a conductor, Dr. Simpson is well-known for her keyboard skills and has performed as a collaborative pianist at division and national conventions for the American Choral Directors Association, as well as for the undergraduate and graduate student conducting competitions at the 2015 American Choral Directors Association national convention. In addition to her work with the NCC, Simpson serves as assistant conductor Tonality, a professional choral ensemble based in Los Angeles that focuses on using music to encourage conversations on social justice topics. She also performs with Tonality as a collaborative pianist and completed a term serving on its Board of Directors. Most recently she prepared singers for a collaboration with Kronos Quartet for Michael Abels’ At War With Ourselves, and participated in a private performance for the Second Gentleman of the United States as well as administrators of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Simpson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Cornell University, a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Texas State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music from the University of Southern California. While at Cornell, Simpson was one of two students selected as a chimesmaster to play the Cornell Chimes and continues to serve on its alumni advisory council to shape the future of this 150+ year musical tradition on campus.