Christopher Haygood

Christopher Haygood is Professor of Conducting and Choral Studies and serves as Interim Director of Choral and Vocal Studies for the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University. Under Christopher's direction, Cantamus Camerata received First Place in the Chamber and Treble Choir categories at the LLangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, premiered Argentinian composer Martín Palmeri's Nisi Dominus at Cadogan Hall in London, performed at OkMEA's Winter Conference, and will perform at the Southwest American Choral Directors Association Conference in 2026. University Singers performed at Carnegie Hall and the OkMEA Winter Conference, Spirit of OSU Vocal Jazz Ensemble performed at the OKMEA Winter Conference and received "Gold" in their category in the Queen of the Adriatic Sea International Choral Competition.

Christopher was honored as a Sigma Alpha Iota National Arts Associate and the recipient of the First Lady of OSU Distinguished Professor of Music Award in 2018. Christopher has conducted choirs and appeared as a clinician across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Highlights of his appearances as guest conductor include the National Choir of Taiwan in the National Concert Hall of Taipei, the Bacau Philharmonic, and the Vidin State Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria. He has prepared choruses for collaborations with Helmuth Rilling, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, and The Tonight Show.

Diverse research interests led Christopher to Prague, for exploration into the choral music of Holocaust survivor Petr Eben and New Zealand for research of choral music based on Māori texts. He has published articles on music research and conducting pedagogy in the International Bulletin of Choral Music, numerous conducting resource guides in Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, and articles in The Choral Conductor's Companion. He appeared as a clinician at the Northwest ACDA Convention, Southwest ACDA Convention, National Collegiate Choral Organization, Oklahoma Music Educators Conference, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Georgia Southern University, the Noble Series at the University of Southern California, the University of Miami, keynote speaker for the secondary music educators of the Dallas Unified School District, and the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association conference. 

Christopher received the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California with additional fields in Vocal Arts, Sacred Music, and Instrumental Conducting. Christopher studied conducting with Jo-Michael Scheibe, Nick Strimple, and Larry Livingston. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Arts in English from Samford University, a Master of Music in Conducting from the University of Mississippi with Jerry Jordan, and completed an international summer honors course in English and Music at the University of Cambridge. He is a member of Phi Kappa Lamba, the American Choral Directors Association, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the National Association for Music Education, the Oklahoma Music Educators Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.