Brenda  Leach , DMA

Chair, Creative and Performing Arts; Associate Professor of Creative and Performing Arts

Department: Creative and Performing Arts
Location: Elliott Hall

Degrees

BMus, Susquehanna University; MM, Eastman School of Music; MEd, Harvard University; DMA, Eastman School of Music

Contact

Phone: 413-565-1378
Email: bleach@baypath.edu

Profile

From the classroom to the stage, Dr. Brenda Leach is an advocate for bringing music and the performing arts to students and audiences around the world. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. She also earned a Master of Education in Arts and Education at Harvard University, where she worked closely with Howard Gardner and Jessica Davis on their seminal work on multiple intelligences, education, and creativity. Her Bachelor of Music degree is from Susquehanna University.

Brenda Leach has held faculty appointments at numerous universities and colleges including Harvard University, the Colleges of the Fenway (Boston) and Towson University. While living in Boston, she was very involved in the musical and educational life of the city and region. She served as Music Director and Conductor of the Boston Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of Nashua Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Conductor of Boston Coro di Camera and Guest Conductor of the Bostonian Opera and Chamber Ensemble.

She is an active Guest Conductor and Concert Organist around the world. Brenda Leach has conducted many European and Russian orchestras including the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, and the Karelia Symphony to name a few. As an organist she has performed at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Petersburg Grand Philharmonic Hall in Russia, Westminster Cathedral in London and in many cathedrals and concert halls in Europe and the USA. She also has appeared as a Featured Artist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the South Dakota Symphony. She is the recipient of numerous artistic honors and is the author of many publications; many of her performances as well as excerpts from her recent CD Windswept on the Pro Organo label have been broadcast on National Public Radio and American Public Media.

When not making music, Brenda Leach enjoys traveling the world, visiting museums, yoga, and jewelry design.