Dr. Nathan Dame, Director of Choral Activities, Wylie East HS
Dr. Nathan Dame is proud to serve as Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Fine Arts at Wylie East High School. A veteran educator, Dr. Dame has conducted choral ensembles of elementary through collegiate singers as a faculty member in the Texas public schools and at the University of Kansas. At Wylie East, he conducts the A Cappella Choir, four leveled tenor-bass choirs (Varsity, Cantus, Select, and Concert), and oversees a thriving choral program of 420 singers in twelve performing ensembles. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he acts as Vertical Team Lead for the East Choir Team, which consists of over 1000 singers in grades 6-12.
His philosophy on education is simple: keep the student first and everything else will take care of itself. It is this vision that propels his service to the music education community, having previously served as American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) National Repertoire & Resources Chair for Senior High School and Junior High/Middle School Choirs, Texas MEA Region Vocal Chair at both the middle and high school levels, and State Collegiate President of Kansas MEA. He has been featured as a conductor, clinician, researcher, author, and presenter at numerous events, including national conventions of ACDA and NAfME, and several regional and state ACDA and MEA conferences. Upcoming engagements include clinician-conductor for the Arkansas All-State Tenor-Bass Choir, the Colorado Middle School All-State Tenor-Bass Choir, and for region choirs in Texas and Tennessee. His research and pedagogical interests include tenor-bass choirs, recruitment and retention, and cultivating leadership. He is featured in numerous professional resources and his choral resource "Finding Middle Ground," is published through Carl Fischer.
Choral programs under his direction have grown to become some of the largest choral programs in the region and state, have been featured at the Texas MEA Convention (2022), Southwestern ACDA Convention (2024, 2014), have been named two-time winners in the National Choral Honors Contest, and consistently receive the highest designations for choral performance at regional and state festivals. He has been awarded numerous awards for outstanding teaching and leadership, including being named as a National Finalist for the Dale Warland American Prize in Choral Conducting and induction into the Yamaha Class of 40 Under 40 Top Music Educators.
While he is incredibly proud of his achievements, he attributes his success to his students, who commonly go on to be named as members of honor choirs, conduct and shape the next generation of choral singer, and serve their community as servant-leaders. He is incredibly privileged to teach alongside his best friend and better half Ashley, co-director of choirs at Wylie East. Together, they claim each student as their “own,” seeking to better the world by mentoring through music each day.
