Emily Isaacson is Director of Choral Activities at Clark University. (Photo by Garnick Moore Photographers)

Emily Isaacson, director of choral activities at Clark, was recently awarded third place in the American Prize in Performing Arts, Choral Conducting, Community Division. This is a national award that celebrates the best musical ensembles and directors across America.

Isaacson is recognized for her versatility, sensitivity and energy. Her 2014 direction of Brahms’ Requiem was heralded as “one of the most moving musical events of the decade” by the Portland Press Herald and “sublime” by the Times Record. Isaacson serves as the Artistic Director of the Oratorio Chorale, the Director of Choral Activities at Clark University in Worcester, Chorus Director of the Bowdoin International Music Festival Chorus, and visiting faculty in music at Bowdoin College. A graduate of Williams College, Isaacson was awarded the St. Andrews Society Fellowship for graduate study in Scotland, where she earned a master’s degree in musicology from Edinburgh University. She holds a second master’s degree from the University of Oregon and is currently a candidate for the doctorate in musical arts in choral conducting at the University of Illinois. Emily lives in Portland, Maine with her husband and one-year old daughter.