About the Author

Jacques Voois holds academic degrees from Oberlin College (BM), Manhattan School of Music (MM) and Johns Hopkins University/Peabody Conservatory of Music (DMA). His musical training included piano study with Joseph Hungate, Jacob Radunsky, Robert Goldsand, Menachem Pressler, Leon Fleisher, Lillian Freundlich, and Konrad Wolff, and conducting study with Leo Mueller, Hugh Ross, Richard Lert, William Smith, and Leon Barzin, the late founder and director emeritus of the National Orchestral Association in New York City.  As a Fulbright and French Government Scholar, Voois studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and French pianist, Robert Casadesus.

Voois served as conductor of the West Chester University Orchestra, music director of the Lansdowne (PA) Symphony, and as guest conductor for numerous academic festival, regional and all-state orchestras.

In 1974 he was a founding member of the Conductors Guild, a service organization for conductors.  In 1980 he founded and, until 2001, served as editor of the Journal of the Conductors Guild.  At its 25^th Anniversary Conference in New York City (January 2000), he was given the Conductors Guild’s first “Distinguished Service Award” in recognition of 25 years of uninterrupted service to the organization.

With the emergence of the field of Performing Arts Medicine, Voois has studied, written and lectured on the subject, both regionally and nationally. From 2003 to 2013, he presented annually on the “Musician Health and Injuries” seminar at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.

In 2004 Voois retired from West Chester University’s School of Music after 35 years of teaching and performance. In 2005, with the assistance of Chester County’s (PA) orchestral musicians and a diverse board of directors, he founded the Chester County Pops Orchestra and until 2013 served as music director and conductor to critical acclaim.

Recently, Dr. Voois was honored with several prestigious awards. In 2008, the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) presented him with its first “Lifetime Achievement Award” at their annual conference held at Brigham Young (UT) University.  In April 2010, for his role in founding and directing the Chesco Pops, the West Chester University Chapter of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Retired Faculty (APSCURF) presented Voois with their first “Outstanding Service Award,” and the Greater West Chester Sunrise Rotary Club granted him its “Leader of Distinction Award in Arts & Culture.”  At WCU’s December 2010 commencement ceremony, the WCU Council of Trustees formally bestowed “Emeritus Designation” on Dr. Voois for 35 years of teaching and performance.

Presently, Jacques Voois is completing a monograph, “The Origins and Evolution of Centered Conducting.”  Segments will be downloaded onto the website <centeredconducting.net> in stages, with completion of the project expected in 2018.