After more than two decades of exceptional artistic leadership, Dr. Welborn Young, “Bill” to so many of us, will retire at the conclusion of the 2026-2027 season, marking 22 years leading Bel Canto Company and six conducting Gate City Voices.

“It’s unbelievable how quickly time passes when engaged in work that feeds the spirit, moves the heart, and challenges the mind,” said Young. I’ve started the list of ‘lasts’ that documents any retirement from a 22-year career with a loved organization and from the people who have, over these two decades, made this time such a fulfilling and successful endeavor. The artistic plan is nearing completion for the last time and auditions for Bel Canto Company’s forty-fourth season and Gate City Voices sixth season are looming close. The excitement I have for the upcoming programs and the joy that comes from the anticipation of leading the ensembles and instrumentalists is tempered by the sadness I feel because I will miss, well, everything, and everyone.”

For many reading this, Bill’s music-making has been a defining part of our experience with Bel Canto Company, Gate City Voices, and the broader Greensboro arts community. Through his artistry, warmth, imagination, and deep commitment to choral excellence, he has helped shape poignant and stirring performances that have brought people together in powerful ways.

Throughout the 2026-2027 season, we look forward to celebrating Bill’s legacy through beautiful music and incredible performances. Full season details will be announced this summer, including major works, community collaborations, and opportunities for former singers to participate in Bill’s final concert.

“I am grateful to the singers of Bel Canto Company and Gate City Voices who have given of their time and considerable talents, to Executive Director Jeffrey Carlson and the many board members whose guidance has been clear and caring, and to this generous and loving community, which has given so much in support of an organization I also love dearly. I hope to see you at many of our concerts next season so that I can thank you in person.”

For now, we hope you will join us in celebrating Bill and the extraordinary musical legacy he continues to build. We are deeply grateful to our generous community of donors, ticket buyers, singers, and friends who support our work, and we look forward to sharing this very special year with you!

Musically yours,

Jeffrey Carlson
Executive Director

P.S. For those who would like to read more about Bill’s remarkable tenure and accomplishments, the full press release is available below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 6, 2026

Contact:
Jeffrey Carlson, Executive Director
The Choral Arts Collective
336-333-2220
Email
choralartscollective.org

2026–2027 Season Will Be Dr. Welborn E. Young’s Final Season with The Choral Arts Collective

Longtime artistic director to retire after 22 seasons leading Bel Canto Company and six seasons with Gate City Voices

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Choral Arts Collective has announced that Dr. Welborn E. Young, longtime artistic director of Bel Canto Company and Gate City Voices, will retire at the conclusion of the 2026–2027 season.

The season will mark Young’s 22nd season conducting Bel Canto Company and his sixth leading Gate City Voices, the large-ensemble chorus founded in 2021 under The Choral Arts Collective umbrella. His final season will celebrate more than two decades of artistic leadership, musical excellence, community collaboration, and choral performances that have become a distinctive part of Greensboro’s cultural life.

“It’s unbelievable how quickly time passes when engaged in work that feeds the spirit, moves the heart, and challenges the mind. And yet, here I am at the ‘jumping off’ point after 22 years,” said Young. “I am grateful to the singers of Bel Canto Company and Gate City Voices who have given of their time and considerable talents, to Executive Director Jeffrey Carlson and the many board members whose guidance has been clear and caring, and to this generous and loving community, which has given so much in support of an organization I also love dearly.”

Founded in 1983, Bel Canto Company has long been regarded as one of the region’s leading choral ensembles. Young’s leadership built on that strong foundation, guiding the ensemble through more than two decades of artistic growth and further expanding its reputation for performances that combine precision, expressive depth, and innovative programming.

Under Young’s direction, Bel Canto Company has performed a wide range of repertoire, from intimate a cappella works associated with the ensemble’s signature sound to major choral-orchestral works presented in collaboration with area musicians and ensembles. Highlights have included J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo, Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light: The Passion of Joan of Arc, and Joseph M. Martin’s Song of Wisdom from Old Turtle.

Young’s interest in regularly presenting larger choral-orchestral works also led to the creation of Gate City Voices, a Choral Arts Collective ensemble that performs twice each year with Bel Canto Company. Together, the ensembles have expanded opportunities for singers and audiences to experience large-scale and rarely performed choral repertoire in the Piedmont Triad.

“Dr. Young’s years of leadership and dedication to musical excellence will continue to impact the arts community for decades to come,” said Carmen Deese, Board President of The Choral Arts Collective. “His influence can be seen not only in the music itself, but in the generations of singers, students, and community members who have grown under his leadership.”

“He will leave a legacy of excellence that is hard to overstate,” said Jeffrey Carlson, executive director of The Choral Arts Collective. “It has been a privilege to work alongside him and witness the profound effect he has had as a conductor, mentor, and friend. Through memorable and innovative performances, community collaborations, the creation and premiere of new works, and his commitment to the next generation of choral musicians, his leadership will leave a lasting impact on our singers, our audiences, and the art itself.”

The Choral Arts Collective will conduct a search for Young’s successor beginning in the second half of 2026.

Details about the 2026–2027 season, including major works, collaborations with area ensembles and musicians, and opportunities for former singers to participate in Young’s final concert, will be announced soon.

Bel Canto Company’s accomplishments under Young’s leadership include serving as the annual concert ensemble for Hinshaw Music’s Celebration series, participating in the National Endowment for the Arts program American Masterpieces: Choral Music, performing at Southern Region and North Carolina conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, and being featured on NPR’s Performance Today. The ensemble has released six albums highlighting live performances, including the premiere of Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living chamber edition and Forrest’s the breath of life, a multimovement work for choir and orchestra commissioned by Bel Canto Company.

Dr. Young is well known in the choral community, and his influence extends beyond The Choral Arts Collective. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served as Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music, and received the 2007 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. He also served as conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro for seven years, and he continues to be a guest conductor for honor choirs and a clinician at festivals and clinics throughout the U.S. He has been a featured festival conductor at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, at the York Minster International Choral Festival in Great Britain, and at Carnegie Hall. In 1998 he prepared Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony Chorus in their first recording.

Auditions for the 2026–2027 season will be held May 29–31 and June 5–6. Singers interested in joining Bel Canto Company or Gate City Voices for Dr. Young’s final season may request an audition time at: https://choralartscollective.org/events/2026-auditions.

About The Choral Arts Collective

The Choral Arts Collective envisions a community that celebrates excellence, diversity, and lifelong participation in choral music. Its three core ensembles—Bel Canto Company, Greensboro Youth Chorus, and Gate City Voices—create engaging, inclusive, and entertaining choral experiences for the Piedmont Triad and beyond. Learn more at choralartscollective.org.

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