Conducting Concordia’s Choir Utopia

Dr. Stephanie Tubiolo
Associate Director of Choirs
Assistant Professor of Choral Music

Where did you complete your studies?

I got my Bachelor of Arts in music at Yale College, and then I did my Master of Music in choral conducting at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. I have a doctorate in choral conducting from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Which choirs do you lead?

At Concordia, I instruct Kantorei, which is our first-year choir. There are about 110 first-years in the ensemble. I also conduct the Concordia Chapel Choir, which has around 90 sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Both choirs represent students from all majors and minors across the college.

What drew you to choral conducting and teaching music?

I found that choir was my greatest and most fulfilling community as a singer, and I was so excited to have the opportunity as a conductor to build community and to create a space of belonging for singers of all ages, but especially at the collegiate level. Choir gives students something that gets them out of bed in the hardest parts of the semester, and choir is a space where they can share their joy in the best parts of the semester.

What led you to apply to this position at Concordia?

I was so excited to see that this position was open because I knew of Concordia as one of the most vibrant choral programs in the country. I had known Concordia College as this sort of choral utopia for years, a place that prioritizes a sense of community in its choir building, a place where the wider Fargo-Moorhead community and the Concordia College community really love choir and celebrate choir, and where students are so excited to sing. I was just so thrilled to see the position open and to have the opportunity to join everything that’s happening here.

What’s your process for picking songs for your choirs to sing?

At the very beginning of each semester, I love to get to know the singers and get to know music that they love, pieces they’ve loved in the past, the languages they speak, the instruments they play. I try to pick music that both challenges and stretches the ensemble but also allows them to show their identity, allows them to be creative and to grow together as a community.

The process of picking music is very fun, very collaborative. Now that I know the students even better, I’m really excited to continue on with that in future semesters.

Do you have a dream piece you’d like to conduct one day?

One of my favorite pieces I’ve ever conducted is Andre J. Thomas’ “Mass: A Celebration of Love and Joy.” That’s one piece I’m super excited to bring here to Concordia soon, especially because there are lots of singers here who really, really love to sing gospel music.

How special it is to have the opportunity to get together and sing every single day.

What do you hope students take from their time in your choirs or your classes?

In our choirs, we often talk about how special it is to have the opportunity to get together and sing every single day and how this might be the only time in our lives when we get to do that, so I hope that the students in choir take that with them and embrace every moment that they get to spend singing together and singing for our community.

What’s something people might not know about you?

In addition to conducting choirs at Concordia, I really love working with youth. I also lead one of the youth choirs at Trinity Lutheran on Eighth Street. The singers are second through sixth graders.

Also, I’m not yet 5 feet tall!

What’s been one of your favorite parts of being a Cobber?

Oh, there are so many. My favorite part about being a Cobber is 100% the students, the energy in the community here, being able to walk across campus and see dozens of students that I’ll see later that day in choir, getting to know all of the other activities that students do, and the special things that make them tick. It’s just a one-of-a-kind place, and I’m so excited to be part of it. Roll Cobbs!

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^{Published May 2026}