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The Las Vegas Master Singers are a community-oriented chorus based in Las Vegas. The 90-voice ensemble is the chorus-in-residence with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, with whom it has collaborated on a variety of masterworks and popular concerts. The Master Singers also enjoy a partnership with Opera Las Vegas, supplying the chorus for main stage productions.
Las Vegas Master Singers has collaborated with other Las Vegas area arts organizations, including the Las Vegas Sinfonietta, the Henderson Symphony, Opera Las Vegas, Nevada Chamber Symphony, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Nevada Ballet Theatre.
Origins
The Las Vegas Master Singers is a community choir that was founded in 1993 by Susan L. Johnson and a small group of dedicated vocalists who came together to sing "for the joy of it." The Master Singers quickly became recognized as one of the premiere choral organizations in the Las Vegas Valley. Continuously performing ever since, this select group boasts nearly one hundred singers who represent a wide segment of Southern Nevada's community. Most have performed as soloists and choristers in a variety of settings around the United States. Many of them hold music degrees and have worked professionally as teachers, choral directors, organists, pianists, or performers. Membership in The Las Vegas Master Singers is achieved through audition. Mrs. Johnson was honored with a proclamation from former Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn recognizing her contributions to the arts community in Las Vegas and Nevada.
Following Johnson's departure from the directorship in 2001, the ensemble was led by Dr. Jocelyn Kaye Jensen from 2002 until 2015 and David B. Weiller from 2016-2021.
Emeritus Conductors
2016-2021DAVID WEILLER, Associate Professor Emeritus, recently retired after 37 years on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty (1984-2021) where he served as Director/Co-Director of Choral Studies and Associate Director of the UNLV School of Music. Under his leadership, the UNLV choirs established a reputation for vibrant performances throughout the southwest and beyond. The UNLV Chamber Chorale performed by invitation at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Concert tours encompassed the southwest United States as well as itineraries in Washington, Hawaii, New York, Mexico, Canada, Spain, and Portugal.
2002-2015
JOCELYN KAYE JENSEN joined the faculty of the UNLV School of Music in 1992 when she founded the Women’s Chorus, which she conducted for 24 years. She currently teaches musicianship courses for UNLV music majors (music theory, sight singing and ear training). A gifted leader and educator, Dr. Jensen received the School of Music “Outstanding Adjunct Faculty of the Year” award in 2002, and the following year she was recognized as one of five outstanding adjunct faculty members from the entire university campus. In 2016, she received the “Outstanding Part-Time Teacher Award” in the College of Fine Arts.
Prior to her association with UNLV, Dr. Jensen taught choral music in the Clark County School District for 33 years. Choirs under her direction received numerous awards, including honors at many prestigious festivals throughout the United States. The Eldorado High School Mixed Choir earned national recognition for their 1988 performance in Lincoln Center and for their debut concert at Carnegie Hall. Dr. Jensen was the first recipient of the “Outstanding Music Educator of the Year” awarded by the Nevada Music Educators Association in 1989.
Dr. Jensen has been the guest conductor for numerous honor choirs in Nevada, California and Utah, and in 2002 she conducted the New Mexico All-State Women's Choir. In the same year, she conducted the first Clark County School District Women's Honor Choir, and she served on the prestigious team of adjudicators for the Heritage Festival of Gold Invitational Choral Festival in New York City’s Riverside Church.
Dr. Jensen served as artistic director and conductor of the Las Vegas Master Singers from 2002-2015. Under her direction, the Master Singers grew into one of the premiere community choral organizations in the Las Vegas valley, performing a full concert season of varied repertoire plus annual appearances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Due in large part to Dr. Jensen’s passion and commitment, the Master Singers established the Susan L. Johnson Scholarship for Choral Studies, the first endowed fund designated specifically for UNLV choral singers. Upon her retirement from the Master Singers, the choir established the Jocelyn K. Jensen Choral Fund for Choral Music Education in her honor to support secondary choral music educators and students in the Clark County School District.
Jocelyn Jensen received the B.A. degree in Secondary Education with an arts emphasis, a Master of Music Degree in Music Education from Utah State University, and the Doctor of Post-Secondary Education with an emphasis in Fine Arts from UNLV. Her studies in conducting include extensive work with renowned conductor and composer Frank Pooler.
David Weiller has conducted major choral-orchestral works ranging from Bach to Bernstein. From 2015-2021 he was the artistic director and conductor of the Las Vegas Master Singers, which is the chorus-in-residence for the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Over a span of 40 years, he has conducted over sixty stage productions at the university and as a principal conductor for the College Light Opera Company in Cape Cod, where he conducts the Gilbert & Sullivan canon, Viennese and early American operettas, and Broadway classics.
Professor Weiller is a past recipient of the UNLV William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching, the UNLV Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award, and the “Teacher of the Year” award in the College of Fine Arts. Many of his former students are highly successful music educators, conductors, and performers across the country. He was an early mentor to Eric Whitacre, internationally known, Grammy-winning composer. Weiller holds degrees from Occidental College in Los Angeles and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with additional studies at California State University, Fullerton; the Oregon Bach Festival; Westminster Choir College; the University of Oklahoma; the University of Nevada, Reno; and Carnegie Mellon University. His teaching mentors include James A. Young, Drinda Frenzel, Thomas Somerville, Harold Decker, Dennis Shrock, and Rodney Eichenberger. He is a distinguished member of Sigma Alpha Iota, International Music Fraternity.
2002-2015
JOCELYN KAYE JENSEN joined the faculty of the UNLV School of Music in 1992 when she founded the Women’s Chorus, which she conducted for 24 years. She currently teaches musicianship courses for UNLV music majors (music theory, sight singing and ear training). A gifted leader and educator, Dr. Jensen received the School of Music “Outstanding Adjunct Faculty of the Year” award in 2002, and the following year she was recognized as one of five outstanding adjunct faculty members from the entire university campus. In 2016, she received the “Outstanding Part-Time Teacher Award” in the College of Fine Arts.
Prior to her association with UNLV, Dr. Jensen taught choral music in the Clark County School District for 33 years. Choirs under her direction received numerous awards, including honors at many prestigious festivals throughout the United States. The Eldorado High School Mixed Choir earned national recognition for their 1988 performance in Lincoln Center and for their debut concert at Carnegie Hall. Dr. Jensen was the first recipient of the “Outstanding Music Educator of the Year” awarded by the Nevada Music Educators Association in 1989.
Dr. Jensen has been the guest conductor for numerous honor choirs in Nevada, California and Utah, and in 2002 she conducted the New Mexico All-State Women's Choir. In the same year, she conducted the first Clark County School District Women's Honor Choir, and she served on the prestigious team of adjudicators for the Heritage Festival of Gold Invitational Choral Festival in New York City’s Riverside Church.
Dr. Jensen served as artistic director and conductor of the Las Vegas Master Singers from 2002-2015. Under her direction, the Master Singers grew into one of the premiere community choral organizations in the Las Vegas valley, performing a full concert season of varied repertoire plus annual appearances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Due in large part to Dr. Jensen’s passion and commitment, the Master Singers established the Susan L. Johnson Scholarship for Choral Studies, the first endowed fund designated specifically for UNLV choral singers. Upon her retirement from the Master Singers, the choir established the Jocelyn K. Jensen Choral Fund for Choral Music Education in her honor to support secondary choral music educators and students in the Clark County School District.
Jocelyn Jensen received the B.A. degree in Secondary Education with an arts emphasis, a Master of Music Degree in Music Education from Utah State University, and the Doctor of Post-Secondary Education with an emphasis in Fine Arts from UNLV. Her studies in conducting include extensive work with renowned conductor and composer Frank Pooler.
Membership
Members of the Las Vegas Master Singers are primarily experienced, learned musicians. Singers often have many years of ensemble singing before joining the group. LVMS's counts among its members many area music teachers, performers, music students, and singers who studied music formally in college but are now pursuing other careers.
Membership in the Las Vegas Master Singers is available by audition. Accepted members pay a semiannual membership fee for the purchase of scores and other business expenses.
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