The Tigard High School Choir Program has experienced a legacy of strong leadership for decades. The choir program was transformed under the outstanding leadership of Mrs. Debra Glaze from 1985 – 1992, and continued to grow and flourish under the extended tenure of Ms. Sue Hale from 1992-2015. Mr. Robert Hawthorne has conducted the Tigard Choir Program since the Fall of 2015.

A graduate of Whitworth University, Mr. Hawthorne studied conducting under Randi von Ellefson, Weston Noble, Sir David Willcocks and Rodney Eichenberger. Mr. Hawthorne is currently pursuing Certification in the Kodály Method of Music Instruction through Portland State University.

Mr. Hawthorne studied choral composition with Alice Parker through her course, Writing for Voices. His compositional project, The Portland Psalter Vol I and II, are used in Episcopal liturgies throughout North America.

Inclusive teaching practices have been a particular interest to Mr. Hawthorne, earning him the 2008 Oregon Disability Mega Conference Educator of the Year. Additionally, as a part of Mr. Hawthorne’s desire to honor the various cultures represented in the membership of the choir program and our school, the program picks a geographic region to focus on each year. In recent years concerts have featured music from the South Pacific Islands, and the continents of Africa, Central and South America and Asia.

During his tenure at Tigard High School, the Concert Choir has continued to be selected to perform at the OSAA State Choir Championships each year. Students continue to regularly qualify for State in their respective solo voice divisions (Mezzo Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone) at the district level, and have placed 1st in Tenor (2019) and 4th in Baritone (2018) at the OSAA State Solo Contest.

Mr. Hawthorne is a member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association of Music Educators (NAfME).