Eric Posada
Dr. Eric Posada is a vibrant and diverse conductor, choral educator and mentor who is passionate about uniting human beings and singers across the world through profound, transformative choral experiences and performances. In August 2021, Posada was appointed director of choral activities at Angelo State. Previously, he held academic appointments at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, Tyler Junior College, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University. A native of McAllen, Texas, Posada founded the Rio Grande Valley’s first professional chorus, Pasión, and is the ensemble’s artistic director.
Since 2020, Posada has presented interest sessions for 28 national, regional or state music conferences. These invitations have included:
- National Collegiate Choral Organization
- Southwestern American Choral Directors Association
- Northwestern Choral Directors Association
- The College Music Society
- National Association of Teachers of Singing
- Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
- 17 State Music Educators Associations
- Four State Choral Directors Associations
- Texas Orchestra Directors Association
In addition to his work in academia, Posada has served 17 years as a director of music in liturgical settings, the highlight of which was a performance at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Additionally, Posada has held conducting posts with civic choruses such as the East Texas Symphony Chorus, Brazos Valley Chorale, Lubbock Chorale and his newly founded San Angelo Chorus. A champion of philanthropic work, Posada’s non-profit organization, Pasión, provides the highest artistic product and administers to counties in southern Texas. The professional chorus recently won third place in The American Prize for two categories, Choral Performance and Performance of American Music, and was selected through refereed audition as Performing Choir for the 2021 Texas Choral Directors Association Summer Conference.
Throughout his career, Posada has been honored and privileged to collaborate with esteemed colleagues and ensembles across the world. Forthcoming for Posada in 2024, is a Carnegie Hall performance of Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass with Manhattan Concert Productions. Recently, Posada and Pasión worked with composers Dominick DiOrio, Dan Forrest, Kyle Pederson and Mari Esabel Valverde to offer the program Light Beyond Shadow to the Texas Choral Directors Association. In 2017, the ensemble performed the concert world premiere of and recorded composer Michael John Trotta’s Light Shines in the Darkness.
At Angelo State, Posada has fostered the engagement of guest artists and scholars to enrich the learning of his musicians through summer conducting symposiums featuring composers Victor Johnson, Mari Esabel Valverde, Marques L. A. Garrett and Christi Jones; roundtables with composers Kyle Pederson and James Knox; and the world premiere of Knox’s Personent Hodie. While at UNCC, the choral department hosted sessions with Stacey V. Gibbs, Tim Sarsany and Craig Courtney. Posada’s students at Tyler Junior College had the opportunity to perform under the direction of two-time GRAMMY award winner Craig Hella Johnson and GRAMMY award nominee Eugene Rogers. During his tenure at Texas A&M University, Posada’s choruses performed at Carnegie Hall and toured across Germany and Canada. Noteworthy partnerships during that time included projects with the internationally acclaimed Nordic Choir and composers Ola Gjeilo and Shawn Kirchner, as well as the world premiere of Michael John Trotta’s Tu Sola Remedio.
Postdoctoral work for Posada has included studies with GRAMMY award winners Jerry Blackstone and Dan Bara. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from Texas Tech University in 2015 and served as a graduate assistant under the tutelage of Richard Bjella. Prior to his doctoral studies, Posada was a graduate assistant of Allen Hightower and completed his Master of Music degree in choral conducting at Sam Houston State University. In 2003, Posada received his Bachelor of Music degree with a concentration in teacher preparation, also from Texas Tech, at which his conducting teachers were John Dickson, Pamela Elrod and Gary Lewis.