Frank Eychaner
Assistant Professor of Music - Director of Choral Activities
Windgate 149
Dr. Frank Eychaner is an internationally celebrated conductor, teacher and communicator. He is recognized for his enthusiastic and engaging teaching style, artistic ensemble leadership and his depth and breadth of content knowledge. He believes in a collaborative process that provides authentic learning situations, celebrates different perspectives, and allows individuals to grow toward achieving their personal and professional goals.
Dr. Frank F. Eychaner completed a BA in Music Education and the MA in Choral Conducting at Central Washington University as a graduate assistant under the supervision of Dr. Geoffrey Boers. Eychaner received the DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Kentucky where he worked as a graduate assistant to Jefferson Johnson. A compulsive and lifelong learner, Eychaner has attended workshops and clinics with many of the nation’s most influential choral conductors, pedagogues and leaders.
Eychaner came to Texas in 2014 as the Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies at the University of Texas, Permian Basin. Since 2014 UTPB Choral program has grown from three to over thirty vocal majors. The growth of the program added two additional choirs in 2016, the Men’s and Women’s Choirs. The award winning ‘University Choir’ was added to the curriculum in 2018. The University Choir will perform at the National ACDA convention in February of 2023 as an Insight Choir and will present ‘Conductor Composer Collaborations: Commissioning as Cultural Bridge’ detailing the process of commissioning and maximizing the cultural exchange between choir and composer through that process. He became the UTPB Music Department Chair in 2020. Since that time, Eychaner has increased the full-time faculty from 4 to 6 and has secured over a million dollars in grant funding for the department.
Before coming to Texas, Eychaner was the Director of Choral Studies and Music Education at Colorado Christian University, a position he held from 2006-2014. At CCU the University choral program quickly attained regional distinction performing as invited choirs at multiple state and regional conferences; Colorado MEA in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, Utah MEA in 2013 and the ACDA Southwest division in 2008 and 2014. The choirs at Colorado Christian University enrolled 15% of the undergraduate population of the University.
Eychaner is a nationally recognized choral pedagogue. In addition to numerous articles in state journals, Eychaner has published many articles in the Choral Journal including “Choral Auditions: Step By Step,” “The Jazz Choir Goes Legit: Copyright Law for the Vocal Jazz Educator” and a two part article, “Ten Keys to Unlocking Artistic Choral Performances.” Other research interests include vocal pedagogy, teacher preparation, choral pedagogy, artistry, conducting and leadership. Dr. Eychaner’s first book, “Foundations of Conducting Technique,” became available from GIA Publications in January 2020. His current writing project is a book about vocal technique building in the choral rehearsal.
Dr. Eychaner is in high demand as a clinician, having presented over 140 juried interest sessions on diverse topics including vocal and choral pedagogy, rehearsal techniques, artistry, contemporary vocal ensembles, conducting, ensemble culture, leadership and more. He has presented for numerous ACDA conventions including the Eastern, three Western, two Northwest, and Central divisions and for five Southwestern ACDA division conventions as well as the Northwestern, Eastern and North Central division of NAfME. He has presented for state conventions in Washington, Texas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Connecticut, Oregon, Nebraska, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, California, Kansas, Wyoming, Missouri, Idaho, Colorado, Oklahoma, Ohio, New Mexico and Kentucky as well as for international conferences in Mexico, Cuba and South Korea. He has been the featured clinician and serves as the Artistic Director of the Vocalterra International Festival de Coro since 2020.
Eychaner is frequently engaged as a guest conductor and has led dozens of honor choirs and professional ensembles including the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra performing Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and Corigliano’s Fern Hill, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, Denver Brass performing Rutter’s Gloria and Stroope’s Hodie, and the Littleton Symphony performing the Brahms Ein Deutches Requiem, Thompson’s Testament of Freedom and Poulenc’s Gloria. He conducted the Kentucky Jr. High Allstate choir in 2014. In 2016 Dr. Eychaner travelled to Seoul, South Korea, to conduct the Korean International Music Education Association High School Honor Choir and give lectures. He conducted the Missouri ACDA Jr. High Allstate choir in 2015. In 2018 he conducted the Colorado Middle Level Allstate Treble Choir and the Texas Gulf Coast Intercollegiate Honor Choir. He conduct in Mexico in the spring of 2018 and led lead his debut performance in Carnegie hall in May of 2018 performing Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. Dr. Eychaner has conducted honor choirs in Oregon, Idaho, Arkansas, Wyoming twice, Missouri, California twice, Kentucky, Texas on a dozen occasions and twenty-five honor choirs in Colorado alone. While the majority of honor choirs have been of high school aged singers, Eychaner is fortunate to conduct choirs of all levels and all voice types. In 2017-2018 he l lead honor choirs of Jr. High Men, Jr. High Women, Elementary students, High School and Jr. College singers. Recent conducting engagements have taken him to Mexico on five occasions and Cuba. In 2022-2023 Dr. Eychaner conducted the Colorado Music Educators Elementary Allstate choir, and honor choirs in Nebraska and Texas.
For five years, Eychaner was the Artistic Director of the Colorado Chorale, an exceptional group of choral musicians that performed great choral works of all times and styles with a focus on masterworks of the Western tradition. As Artistic Director of the Chorale, Eychaner led the choir in performances of many of the most important choral works in the repertoire (see complete repertoire list). The Chorale presented their ‘Music For Life’ concert in February of 2012 providing an opportunity for 350 Colorado high school and collegiate students to sing Mozart’s Requiem on Denver’s prestigious Boettcher concert hall stage. Other outreach projects included Orff’s Carmina Burana in 2011 bringing together 450 performers onstage.
Eychaner is a fierce advocate for contemporary composers and the performance of new works. As conductor, he has led dozens of world premier performances, including nine commissioned works in the last calendar year. Eychaner has arranged and composed nearly 60 works for choirs and vocal jazz ensemble. His arrangements are available through UNC Jazz Press. He has commissioned and led premiere performances of works by Kenneth H. Lampl, M. Susan Brown, Pat Heid, Ruth Robertson, Karen Eychaner, Vijay Singh, Julio Morales, Ruth Coberly, Reginald Wright, Eduardo Cota, Christian Fortner and Dave Cazier. Performing as an Insight Choir at the 2023 National ACDA convention, the UTPB choirs shared nine commissioned works in an Insight Choir presentation entitled “Conductor Composer Collaborations: Commissioning as Cultural Bridge.”
In the classroom Eychaner is an innovative and award winning educator. He was the first recipient of the Yakima Jazz Festival ‘Coach’ award, honoring Eychaner’s contribution to the tradition of Vocal Jazz excellence in the Northwest pioneered by John Moawed. Eychaner and his choirs received the ‘Waldo Award’ in both 1999 and 2000, given by the staff and students of Columbia Basin College for excellence onstage and humanity offstage honoring the legacy and life of Waldo King. During his five-year tenure as Director of Choirs, the choirs of Centennial High school won first place honors more than a dozen times at competitive jazz and choral festivals in the Northwest. Eychaner was the recipient of the 2004 Treasure Valley Community College ‘Service’ award for contributions to the College and Community. Eychaner received the Lucille Caudill Little ‘Outstanding Vocal Student’ awarded by the University of Kentucky vocal department with an accompanying stipend. Vocal students in Eychaner’s studio have twice been selected as the University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s annual ‘Outstanding Solo Performer.’ Finally, Eychaner has recently been nominated for the University of Texas system’s prestigious Regents Teaching Award, the highest honor in the UT System.
Frank served the Oregon chapter of ACDA as the Jazz and Show Choir Chair from 2001-2005. He served Colorado choral community on the state board from 2006-2012 and as the President of the College and University Council of the Colorado Music Educators Association from 2012-2014. He also served as the Membership chair of the Colorado chapter of the American Choral Directors Association from 2006-2014. He has served as the Collegiate Chair for Region VI of the Texas Music Education Association and currently serves Region VI as Secretary. He served as the Interest Session Chair for the 2018 SWACDA conference in Oklahoma City, a capacity he also served in for the 2012 and 2014 SWACDA conventions.