Evan Bruno

Evan Bruno is an accomplished music educator and choral conductor who has spent more than a decade working with youth from across the Chicagoland area to bring them together through music. In 2022, Evan was named the eighth Artistic Director of Anima – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus. As Artistic Director of Anima, Evan’s choirs have toured nationally and internationally, performed with the Music of the Baroque under the direction of Dame Jane Glover, and in 2024 partnered with the Illinois Philharmonic to premier a commission by Augusta Read Thomas. In addition to his work with Anima, Evan is currently serving as the Chair of Voice Department at the Merit School of Music where he conducts the Conservatory Choirs and oversees curriculum and faculty development.

From 2011 to 2022, Evan was with Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir), most recently serving as Faculty Director for the organization, overseeing an artistic staff of 13 conductors who work with nearly 5,000 young people across Chicago in 80 schools and 13 communities. While with Uniting Voices, Evan worked in over twenty schools, co-opened the Englewood Neighborhood Choir and opened the Bucktown Neighborhood Choir, and assisted in the preparation of choruses for performances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Music Festival, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Evan’s choirs perform music from the Renaissance period to modern choral compositions. He is also passionate about the authentic performance of music outside the Western Classical Canon to help youth understand the world around them and be best prepared to become the next generation of just leaders.

As a teacher, Evan’s focus has been creating a space where each individual singer can express exactly who they are without concern or worry and he strives to create an inclusive rehearsal environment. His teaching and related research aim to optimize the social emotional impact of music education. Evan has been invited to present on his research and techniques to improve social emotional learning in the arts at the Kennedy Center for the Arts and to Grantmakers for Education. Evan was also a contributing author for the book “Winding It Back: Teaching to Individual Differences in Music Classroom and Ensemble Settings.”

Evan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in choral music education from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. He also holds Level III Kodály Certification from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX where he has also served as an instructor of ensemble and conducting.

Born and raised in Williamsburg, VA, Evan Bruno began his professional music career at the age of 10 when he joined the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums as a fifer. Over eight years, Evan learned the importance of authenticity in music-making and the value of high-quality extracurricular music programs for youth. This unique experience continues to inform his teaching today. Evan lives on the North Side of Chicago and thoroughly enjoys the vibrant arts and culinary scene of the city he has come to call home.