Margaret Winchell strives to approach every artistic endeavor with curiosity, thoughtfulness, and joy.

As a conductor, Margaret crafts musical experiences that prompt performers and audiences to reconsider themselves and the world around them. Equally at home in educational and professional settings, Margaret maintains a diverse calendar of activities encompassing both music and theater. Collaborating across disciplines enables Margaret to explore music, text, and narrative in a richly interconnected approach. Through careful selection of texts, juxtaposition of varied musical styles, and innovative pedagogical approaches, she harnesses music’s power both as a means—of storytelling, skill-building, and interpersonal growth—and as an end unto itself.

In the fall of 2022, Margaret began pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at Yale University. There, she conducts the Repertory Chorus and sings with Camerata, Schola Cantorum, and the Recital Chorus. She holds a Master of Music in Conducting from Western Michigan University and a Bachelor of Music Education from Wheaton College. Her teachers and mentors include Jeffrey Douma, David Hill, Kimberly Dunn Adams, Rhea Olivacce, Mary Hopper, and John William Trotter.

Before her graduate studies, Margaret taught high school for several years in the Chicagoland area, where she often returns in the summers. She has taught for several seasons in the Goodman Theatre’s summer educational programming, and she regularly serves on the creative team for productions of Wheaton Shakespeare in the Park. She continues to be in demand as a teaching artist and music director, and she is praised for her thoughtful and energetic contributions to artistic and educational spaces.

Additionally, Margaret has presented at multiple music conferences at the state and regional levels on the use of theater education practices to enhance choral singers’ connections to text and meaning. Her research interests also include culturally sustaining pedagogy, aural skills and theory pedagogy, and facilitating the development of a democratic classroom culture.

Margaret sees the artistic ensemble as an exquisite picture of community, as individuals honor each other’s voices while seeking consensus. Believing that everyone is capable of growth, she loves working with student artists as they deepen and articulate their perspective and passion. Making art and learning alongside them is a tremendous privilege.