Dallas chapter

Luke McEndarfer celebrates
20 years of expanding the National Children’s Chorus

MELISSA WHITLER | NBCU Fellow
Melissa@DallasVoice.com

North Texas conductor Luke McEndarfer just celebrated 20 years with the National Children’s Chorus and a lifetime of passion work. While he works with the students in the local Dallas chapter, he also serves as president and CEO of the organization.

McEndarfer has had a connection to music for most of his life. “It has inspired me from a very young age,” he recalled.

“When I was six, my parents told me I had a long list of gifts from Santa, and then before Christmas, I crossed off the entire list and wrote ‘piano.’”

After this, he began taking lessons and spent his time playing songs he heard on the radio.

Luke McEndarfer

“The way that a piece of music can affect me inspires me in a way nothing else can,” McEndarfer described. “I feel the most myself in the middle of a piece of music; there’s nothing else like it.”

When he went to UCLA, McEndarfer’s parents said he could either be a doctor or a lawyer. Because of a traumatic experience dissecting a heart in fifth grade, he went the lawyer route. He started out studying English and business, but, at the urging of friends and professors, began taking private conductor lessons.

“After my first time conducting, I knew this is what I wanted to do for rest of my life,” McEndarfer said. “So I submitted a video to the dean of the music school and was invited to enroll in the conducting master’s program at UCLA.”

The program only accepts two people every year, and it’s very unusual to be invited. This was the sign McEndarfer needed to realize he should pursue music professionally.

In 2004, he was appointed director of the Paulist Choristers of California, and, in 2008, he expanded the choir into the National Children’s Chorus. Currently the organization has 42 ensembles across eight chapter cities. While McEndarfer oversees the whole national chorus, he mainly conducts in Texas and New York.

McEndarfer said mentoring the kids has been an absolute dream. “Every single time I work with any of our ensembles — it doesn’t matter how my day is going, even on bad days — every time I leave that rehearsal, I feel spectacular,” he said.

Working with students is such a gift, he said, adding that the kids are definitely the best part of the job.

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Because of their energy and humor, McEndarfer has found that to be successful with children takes different skills than when working with adults. “You have to be engaging and inspire them to want to do it for themselves,” he said. “The musical results when you connect with them is so much better.”

This experience has also helped McEndarfer be a better conductor when working with adults. He explained that professional musicians will put forth effort regardless of the conductor, “but there is a young person inside every adult, and they appreciate being treated as more than someone to get a result.”

What children learn while in the chorus goes beyond just musical skills. McEndarfer stresses the many benefits.

“It can be therapeutic,” he said, “Music is its own language that helps you express yourself.”

Being in an ensemble and singing with great skill also requires you to learn life skills, he continued: “Students learn commitment, responsibility, leadership and communication.”

Being in the chorus means having to be on time, using your voice and your ears to express yourself and listen to others, and working together as a group. This kind of discipline and integrity is important for so many different aspects of life.
McEndarfer explained that “about 10 years in, I began to see that teaching music is a mechanism for an even higher ideal of creating positive and contributing citizens to the community.”

And after he sends his students out into the world, many come back to express their gratitude for their time in the chorus.

At an event celebrating McEndarfer, many alumni from the program gave speeches about what their time with him meant for them. McEndarfer said that the graduates are a reflection of the organization, and they continue to inspire and inform what decisions are made.

The chorus provides a safe space both for students and staff. “My LGBTQ identity has never been an issue,” McEndarfer said, explaining that the chorus stands for diversity, from composers to the music to the cultures they represent.

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“I have found the environment very supportive,” McEndarfer said. “Who I am is known by everyone but is not important, with the focus more on talent and work ethic.”

He’s been able to bring his partner along to events, providing LGBTQ students someone they can relate to. In Southern states like Texas, where LGBTQ identities are suppressed in schools, this kind of inclusion is incredibly important. For students, this might be the first openly LGBTQ adult they are able to build a relationship with. And they know that were they to come out, the chorus would be a safe, supportive space for them.

The chorus has been on tour this summer, traveling across the world, giving students the opportunity to perform in countries from Italy to Korea.

The organization’s season follows the traditional school year, starting with the first rehearsal the week after Labor Day and culminating with a performance in May. Auditions take place over the month of August.

McEndarfer described the auditions as being a lot of fun. “The truth is the audition is a very supportive and enjoyable experience,” he explained. “The goal is not to judge but rather evaluate where their skills are, where they need to improve and what programs would be a match.”

McEndarfer makes sure to conduct at least 20 auditions himself, as he wants to meet the students auditioning and see how they are responding and what the energy is like.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned, children are still dealing with the effects of isolation and trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic,” McEndarfer said, emphasizing how important music is in bringing people together and strengthening connections. “When you can feel connectedness with other people, it brings out empathy and success on another level,” he said. “I truly believe the role music plays in that is really critical.”

This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBC Universal.