Dr. David De Lyser, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, joined the University of Portland faculty in 2010. His conducting duties at the University include the University Singers, Chamber Choir and music director/pit orchestra director for campus musical productions. He has previously conducted the UP Orchestra. He teaches composition, orchestration, music theory and musical theater courses.
Outside of the University, he is the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland and maintains a busy schedule of guest conducting and adjudicating. He holds graduate degrees in conducting and composition from the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Portland, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Business from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Dr. De Lyser is a published author and award-winning composer whose works have been commissioned, premiered and performed by professional, collegiate, community and high school performing ensembles across the country.
Education:
Doctor of Arts, University of Northern Colorado
Master of Arts, University of Portland
Bachelor of Music, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Megan Elliott is the director of Bel Canto, the University of Portland’s treble chorus. She brings 20 years of experience as a conductor, singer, and music therapist, and has a passion for creating strong choral communities that build each other up while also working hard to perform at the highest artistic level.
Megan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocal Performance from Corban University, a Certificate of Music Therapy from Marylhurst University, and Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of Nebraska Kearney. She has been the Assistant Artistic Director and the Assistant Conductor of the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland for 10 years and also serves as their alto section leader. She taught at Marylhurst University for 5 years, supervising music therapy practicum students and conducting their treble choir. She is also a board-certified music therapist and has worked with children, people in memory care, adults with special needs, and directed a choir specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease.
When she is not singing or conducting, Megan loves to cook, hike, ride horses, and spend time with her family. Her dream is to go horseback riding in the Swiss Alps (while occasionally singing along the way, of course).
Education:
Doctor of Arts, University of Oregon
Master of Music, University of Oregon
Bachelor of Arts, George Fox University
Dr. Patrick Murphy is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Portland. He has presented sessions at regional, national, and international conferences in both the United States and Europe. His primary research focuses on Soviet wind band music, about which he is consulted by conductors and researchers worldwide. He has twice traveled to Moscow to conduct research and teach conducting at the Russian Academy of Music. Recent scholarly presentations relate to music in the Japanese American incarceration camps of World War II and the practical use of Set Theory in tonal analysis.
Dr. Murphy’s degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Arizona, an M.A. in Music Education from the University of Minnesota, and a B.M. from Washington State University, also in Music Education. Locally, he is conductor of the Southwest Washington Wind Symphony and the Portland Community Wind Band, in addition to being an active adjudicator and clinician.
Education:
Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting, University of Arizona
Master of Arts in Music Education, University of Minnesota
Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Washington State University
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
