Edward Bolkovac

Education

DMA, Stanford University

Diploma, Kodály Zenepedagógiai Intézet

MM, SUNY-Binghamton

BSEd, Duquesne University

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Dr. Bolkovac started his teaching career at Holy Names College in Oakland, California (now Holy Names University) where he was appointed as a full-time faculty member at age 26 to teach in the Kodály Graduate Music Education Program. Then he taught ear training, choral conducting, conducted the college choirs, and later directed the college orchestra for three years, eventually becoming the Director of the Kodály program. Shortly after his arrival at Holy Names, he also began the first of over twenty international trips to teach and conduct in Australia, England, New Zealand, The Philippines, and Taiwan. His first appointment as a Music Director was with the Bay Area Lutheran Chorale, a community chorus based in San Francisco that performed the standard choral/orchestral repertoire. He later earned his doctorate, and became the Artistic Director of the California Bach Society. Following this appointment, he became very involved in the San Francisco Bay Area's rich early music scene, revitalizing the California Bach Society into one of the Bay Area's finest Baroque ensembles, and working frequently with some of the finest singers and orchestral players.

After 16 years in the Bay Area, he moved to Australia to take up the position of Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Queensland in Brisbane where he directed the university choral ensembles and taught ear training and choral conducting. While at the University of Queensland, Dr. Bolkovac was nominated for an Excellence in Teaching Award, and also won a competitive national grant to Berlin and The Library of Congress to study performance practice styles in early commercial recordings of the choral music of Brahms. He became known throughout Australia for his performances of Baroque oratorios, his many international workshops, and artistic leadership of the Brisbane Early Music Festival.