Allan Laino
Artistic Director
Bass/Baritone, Composer, Conductor
American Prize winner Allan Laino, D.M.A. is a conductor, composer, singer, educator, and keyboard artist in the DC metro area. He has prepared choral ensembles for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, BSO Pops and Jack Everly, National Symphony Orchestra Pops and Steve Reineke, Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, and the Josh Groban Live National Tour. In 2018, he made his debut on the Kennedy Center stage as a choral conductor, collaborating with The Philip Glass Ensemble and The Washington Chorus in tribute to honoree Philip Glass at The Kennedy Center Honors. He returned to lead The Washington Chorus in a choral feature for the NSO Pops holiday concerts. As Assistant Conductor for The Washington Chorus, he stepped in on short notice to finish choral preparation and serve as substitute chorus master for the world premiere of Lera Auerbach’s ARCTICA with the NSO and Teddy Abrams. As Co-Conductor of the Sunday Night Singers in 2012, he earned First Prize at the World Choir Games in the Mixed Chamber Choir Champions Division. He is the 2018 winner of The American Prize—Community Chorus Division.
Laino is an adjunct professor at the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art at The Catholic University of America. He joined the faculty in the spring of 2016, serving as the Interim Director of Choral Studies that semester. He currently serves as Director of the University Singers who, under his baton, perform with the CU Symphony Orchestra for The Annual Christmas Concert for Charity at the National Shrine, a televised program broadcast to over 140 countries on EWTN. He also holds positions as Assistant Conductor of The Washington Chorus, Director of Music Ministry at Western Presbyterian Church, an Artistic Director for Bridge, Associate Conductor for the National Children's Chorus, and the College/University Resources & Repertoire Chair for ACDA's MD/DC Chapter.
During his doctoral studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, Laino directed the University Chorale and he served as Assistant Conductor for the Chamber Singers when they performed Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor with the BSO under Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Cantatas 63 and 110 with the NSO under Helmuth Rilling, and were featured performers at the 10th World Choral Symposium. He served as assistant conductor (La Bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus) and chorus master (Idomeneo, La Bohème, and Die Zauberflöte) for the Maryland Opera Studio. As part of the MOS New Works Initiative, he music directed the East Coast premiere of Jack Perla’s opera Love/Hate in 2014.
Laino is a former member of the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the resident professional chamber choir for which he has also guest-conducted in Masses. He has sung with groups such as The Thirteen, the Yale/Norfolk Music Festival Chamber Choir, The Trinity Chamber Orchestra, the Sunday Night Singers, the Horizon Chamber Choir, and the Pacific Chorale.
In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Laino recently worked with the National Children's Chorus, Fauquier All-County Chorus, DC Public Schools Treble Honor Chorus, and the All-Catholic High School Honor Choir.
Dr. Laino completed his D.M.A. in Choral Conducting at the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned his M.F.A in Choral Conducting, and B.A. in Voice/Music at the University of California, Irvine.