Department of Music Faculty and Staff

Paul Hondorp is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Western Kentucky University, where he directs university ensembles, teaches the undergraduate conducting sequence, and teaches graduate conducting and choral literature. A California native, Hondorp completed degrees at Cal State Long Beach (BM), Temple University (MM), and Michigan State University (DMA).   Dr. Hondorp previously taught at the community college and high school level and has directed church choirs in California, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.  He has been Director of Music at First Christian Church of Bowling Green since 2004.

Hondorp has served as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for festivals of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in numerous states. International invitations include work in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Honduras, and Canada.  He was chosen as a 2017 International Conductors Exchange Program Fellow in Costa Rica.   Choirs under his direction have performed at the state and regional level in KMEA and ACDA conferences.  His book Choral Error Detection:  Exercises for Developing Musicianship was published in January 2015 by Carl Fischer Music.

Hondorp has served numerous posts for the American Choral Directors Association, including President of the Kentucky ACDA, and state and divisional Repertoire and Standards representative for College/University. He is a founding member of National Collegiate Choral Organization and served as KY state representative for 10 years.

A lyric tenor, Hondorp sings regularly with the Dallas-based professional chamber ensemble Vox Humana under the direction of Dr. David Childs, and performed with Oregon Bach Festival Chorus under the direction of Helmuth Rilling for seven summers. He served on the faculty of the Berkshire Choral Festival in Sheffield, Massachusetts.   Professional recordings include ensemble performances with Vox Humana (Naxos), the Oregon Bach Festival (the late masses of Franz Joseph Haydn, Hännsler Records), and solo work for an educational series of compact discs by GIA Publications.

Dr. Hondorp lives in Bowling Green with his wife, soprano Jennifer Brennan-Hondorp, their son Brennan, and their daughter Finley.