Faculty & Staff
Director of Choral Programs
Christopher Grundy is the director of Choral Programs at Sacred Heart University, where he leads the Concert Choir and 4 Heart Harmony.
He currently serves as director of music at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, where he leads a 30-voice volunteer choir. Previously he was the founding director of Ensemble Bdeniye, a professional a cappella choir in Bloomington, IN, that premiered choral works of contemporary Orthodox church music. He frequently performs guest workshops, masterclasses and adjudications.
In addition to his work as a conductor, Christopher is a critically acclaimed operatic baritone. He has performed with opera companies, orchestras and concert festivals throughout North America and Europe. He has recorded as a featured soloist for Naxos Records, Parma Records and most recently BIS Records (now Apple Music).
He received his Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Wolfgang Brendel. During this time he served as associate instructor of voice, and assistant director of graduate opera workshop. He completed his dissertation on the songs of Charles Ives with renowned Ives scholar Peter Burkholder.
Christopher completed his BA at Yale University with a thesis on the orchestral songs of Gustav Mahler. He was assistant conductor of the Yale Glee Club and associate conductor of the Yale Russian Chorus.
Christopher serves on the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford. He is a founding board member of the Neely Bruce Music Foundation.
Christopher’s first career was in aviation. He is a commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor, with experience in Sikorsky, Eurocopter, Bell and Robinson helicopters.
Degrees
- DM, Indiana University
Dissertation: “The Unknown Editing of Charles Ives: New Sources for 114 Songs” - MM, Indiana University
- BA, Yale University
Assistant Director of Choral Programs
John Morrow is a choral conductor, organist and tenor from Altus, OK. He graduated with a master’s degree in organ at Indiana University. In Bloomington, he served as a collaborative pianist, organist and singer for the IU Choral Program. John served as assistant conductor for the IU Compline Choir and worked with the Bloomington Community Theatre, the IU Children's Chorus and the IU Organ Department's annual Choralfest programs. From 2016-2021, he served as associate director of music ministries and principal organist at McFarlin Memorial UMC in Norman, OK, as well as a staff accompanist at the University of Oklahoma and assistant director of the Norman Philharmonic. In September 2019 and 2022, John conducted and sang with the St. Jacob’s Chamber Choir in Stockholm, Sweden. John also received a master’s degree in choral conducting at the University of Oklahoma and serves on the staff of the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria.
Degrees
- MM, Indiana University
- MM, University of Oklahoma
- BA, University of Oklahoma
Staff
Gospel Choir
Michael Brown is an astonishingly talented musician known for his soaring vocals, dazzling piano artistry and captivating stage presence. Michael moved to the northwest corner of Connecticut more than 20 years ago (he splits his time between Litchfield County and Paris, France) and captivated legions of music lovers when he introduced gospel music to the area. Since then, and under his charismatic leadership, gospel choirs have proliferated throughout the region. Michael directs gospel choirs at the Hotchkiss School (for 18 years), Salisbury School, Westover, Taft and South Kent schools. He states that Gospel music is "music that is spirited, heartrendering and full of joy."
Liturgical Choir
Matthew Cimino directs SHU’s Liturgical Choir. An avid performer, Matthew joined Hillhouse Opera’s production of Handel’s Alcina and performed roles in both Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail in New Haven, CT, as well as the chorus in Connecticut Grand Opera’s productions of Madama Butterfly and Lucia di Lammermoor in Stamford, CT. He had the honor of being chosen as a featured artist in Philadelphia’s LGBT Arts Festival, singing Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin. Matthew has been awarded the Hilda Riggio award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, honorable mention from the Amici competition in Clinton, CT, and Accadia Foundation for the Arts in Manhattan, NY, and the Arturo Coppola Memorial Award from the Bel Canto Competition in Providence, RI. In addition to his role at Sacred Heart, Matthew is an adjunct professor of voice at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, as well as a member of the piano faculty at the Westport School of Music in Westport, CT, and a private piano teacher in New Canaan, CT.
Degrees
- MM, Vocal Performance, University of Connecticut
- BM, Vocal Performance, New England Conservatory
Staff Accompanist
Staff Pianist
A native of Quebec, Canada, Eric Trudel graduated with top honors from the Quebec Conservatory of Music. He won the prestigious Prix d’Europe competition, which enabled him to study privately with pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Marc Durand and Louis Lortie. He has taught and performed extensively throughout Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the United States. His New York City credits include recitals at Weil Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and the 92nd Street Y. While pursuing an active career as a pianist, he took conducting lessons from Raffi Armenian and Ronald Zollman.
Mr. Trudel has worked as a pianist, coach and/or conductor with many organizations, amongst which the Montreal International Piano Festival , the Banff Center Festival for the Arts, L'Opéra de Montréal, Connecticut Grand Opera, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the OK MOZART Festival the Pro Arte Singers and the Stamford Chorale.
His faculty appointments include the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Trois-Rivières, Montréal Opera’s Atelier Lyrique, the Université du Québec à Montréal and more recently Yale University's School of Music (2001-2005) and Western Connecticut State University. He currently is on faculty at The Hartt School, University of Hartford and Southern Connecticut State University.
His long association with the CBC includes numerous television and radio performances as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. On CD, he can be heard on the CBC, Star, and Naxos labels. In 2005, he was involved in the recording of the complete songs of Charles Ives for Naxos.
In 2008, the national publication Classical Singer Magazine chose Eric Trudel to be "Vocal Coach of the Year", a crowning acknowledgement of his many years of collaborative work with opera singers.
In the opera field, he has recently conducted productions of Carmen, Dialogues des Carmélites, Street Scene, Suor Angelica, Les Mamelles de Tirésias and Peter Grimes.
Eric Trudel just joined the Wall Street Chamber Players, a group of first chair musicians from the New Haven Symphony and other orchestras who have been performing in their own subscription series through Connecticut for the past 35 years.
For three years, Mr. Trudel was the music director at First Congregational Church in Watertown, where he prepared and conducted the choir and honed his organ skills. He is currently pianist and organist for Tremont and Emanu-El Temples Synagogue in Scarsdale NY.
A devoted student and practitioner of the Alexander Technique, he gratefully credits his teacher Rachel Bernsen with weekly life-changing experiences.