The Monadnock Chorus has announced Sandra Howard as its new artistic director. She takes the role in July for the start of the chorus’s 66th season offering choral music in the Monadnock region.

“After an extensive New England-wide search, we are excited to have found such an accomplished conductor right in our own backyard,” stated Karen Nelson, board vice chair and member of the search committee. “Sandra Howard brings a wealth of experience, creativity and leadership, and we can’t wait to collaborate with her in the years ahead.”

Howard is a professor of music at Keene State College, where she teaches choral methods and conducting, supervises methods practicum and student teaching and conducts the Keene State College Chamber Singers and Concert Choir.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education, a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Maine and a doctorate in music education and curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She previously taught middle and high school music in Conway and served as an adjunct faculty member at Granite State College, Blue River Community College in Missouri and the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance.

Howard is an active presenter at Society for Research in Music Education and Society for Music Teacher Education research symposia and at ACDA and MEA state and regional conferences. Her scholarship has been published in “Journal of Research in Music Education,” “Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education,” “The Choral Journal,” “Teaching Music” and “NHMEA QuarterNotes Journal.”

She received the 2016 Campus Compact for New Hampshire Presidents’ Good Steward Award and the 2017 NHACDA Choral Director of the Year. She has conducted in the United States, Canada, Germany and Italy. She lives in Westmoreland with her husband, son and two chocolate Labrador retrievers.

“I am thrilled to have been invited as the artistic director of the Monadnock Chorus, whose tradition of choral excellence has been celebrated in the Monadnock region for over 60 years,” Howard stated. “Through the leadership of previous conductors, the Monadnock Chorus has brought a high level of choral artistry and musical excellence to the community. It will be my greatest joy to continue to collaborate with these dedicated singers from across the greater Monadnock region to craft a vibrant choral sound, promote a positive community of singers and present choral music of the utmost quality to enrich the culture in the greater region.”

The Monadnock Chorus’s winter concert will take place Dec. 13 and 14 at the Peterborough Town House. For information, visit monadnockchorus.org.