Sacred Heart University Hires New Choral Director

Sacred Heart University has hired Irina Georgieva as the new director of choral programs, starting this fall. Currently, there are six choirs on campus and about 200 participating students.

In this role, Georgieva will be responsible for developing the vision, direction and supervision of all choral activities and ensembles at SHU.

Georgieva earned her doctoral degree in conducting at the Eastman School of Music, her master's degree in conducting at Northwestern University and her bachelor's degree in conducting at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Georgieva taught conducting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for several years, while also serving parishes in the area as a music director. She will continue to teach remotely at Berklee.

She has led various ensembles, including the University of Rochester Chamber singers, the Cornell University Sage Chapel Choir in Ithaca, NY, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges chorus in Geneva, NY, and the Greece, New York Orchestra.

"While there are many exciting aspects of this new endeavor, I am mostly looking forward to working with the students and sharing my love for choral singing with them," she said. "I am excited about the possibility of achieving national and international presence for our program."

As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers nearly 90 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University's nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent's College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change-in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 387 Colleges-2022 Edition, "Best Northeastern" and Best Business Schools-2022 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu