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The Director
Robert S. Webb, Jr. has been Music Director of The Northern Virginia Chorale for more than twenty years. Mr. Webb assumed the directorship of the Chorale in the fall of 1982 from the Reverend Jack Martin, who founded the Chorale as a community organization in 1975. Under Mr. Webb's talented direction and leadership, the Chorale has continually provided quality music to audiences attracted from across Northern Virginia. He has fostered the Chorale's musical relationships with English, French, and Italian choirs with whom the Northern Virginia Chorale has been associated through a series of exchange concerts and visits. Mr. Webb has directed the Chorale in several prestigious venues in Europe, which include Salisbury Cathedral in England and the Basilica of St. Mark and the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Venice, Italy.Mr. Webb is associate professor of music at Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale campus, where he directs the NOVA Chorus and the Chamber Singers, and teaches composition, music appreciation, theory, conducting, and voice. He is also an adjunct professor at George Mason University where he teaches graduate courses in music education. Mr. Webb is the director of the extensive music program at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Springfield and was previously director of music at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Springfield and at Grace United Methodist Church in Manassas. He has a broad range of experience in conducting, performing, and instrumental music as well as his work with many vocal organizations. Early in his professional career he played trumpet in the U.S. Navy band (Washington, D.C.), has since played trumpet with the Richmond Symphony, the Filene Center Orchestra, the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, and other groups. He has conducted the Prince William Symphony, the NIH Orchestra, and the Federal City Silver Cornet Band.
Mr. Webb earned a Master's degree in music at the Catholic University of America, where he studied orchestral conducting with Frederick Fennell and Lloyd Geisler. He earned a Bachelor of music degree at Ithaca College in New York state. He also studied vocal and instrumental music with John Rutter, Robert Shaw, Paul Christiansen, Joseph Flummerfelt, Sir David Willcocks, Dr. Richard Lert, Lloyd Geisler, Leslie Bennet, and Raymond McGuire. Mr. Webb is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and has served as its Chairman of Community Choruses.
Accompanist
Raymond Freeman, organist at Grace Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Virginia, since 1999, is an accomplished pianist, organist, and cellist who has performed in the Northern Virginia area for over forty years. His experience as a church organist dates back to 1965 and includes positions at Resurrection Lutheran, Arlington Methodist, and Kirkwood Presbyterian churches. He frequently performs as a solo pianist and has appeared several times with the Arlington Symphony Orchestra. He was guest artist at Arlington Forest Methodist Church in a dedicatory organ recital in 1973. He has also performed as a cellist with the American Light Opera Company and the Arlington Symphony Orchestra. He is currently accompanist not only for the Northern Virginia Chorale, but also for the Ron Freeman Chorale. Dr. Freeman holds a Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics from M.I.T.
