Dan Perkins, is in his 26th year at Plymouth State University, where he is professor of music and director of choral activities and in 2007 was appointed the first Stevens-Bristow Distinguished Professor. Dr. Perkins is active as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and abroad. He is co-founder and music director of the New Hampshire Master Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, and music director of the Manchester Choral Society and Orchestra. Past positions include guest conductor of the Asia Pacific Activities Conference Orchestra in Hanoi, Vietnam, and principal guest conductor of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet in Hanoi. He is on the summer faculty at the yearly Bassi Brugnatelli International Conducting and Singing Symposium in Robbiate, Italy.
He is a frequent conductor of the NH Friendship Chorus and led their 2016 performance tour in Cuba. His choirs have performed and studied in England, Colombia, Poland, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, Morocco, Vietnam, South Korea, South Africa, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Canada, Armenia, Georgia, and throughout the United States. He led the PSU Chamber Singers on a performance/study tour in Chile in May of 2014. He was guest conductor for Mid-America and the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in April of 2014.
Perkins is also pianist for the Trio Veritas, whose recent performances included violinist Sasha Callahan, cellist Leo Eguchi, bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton, and mezzo-soprano Emily Jaworski.
Perkins holds the degrees Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Brigham Young University. He continued his studies as a Fulbright scholar in Helsinki, Finland. He lives with his wife, Jill, in New Hampshire and they are the parents of two sons.
