Thomas Standish-Rinn

Thomas J. Standish-Rinn currently serves as Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Texas State University, where he teaches courses in music education and is director of the Aurora Voce Treble Choir. Additionally, Standish-Rinn serves as the Artistic Director of the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus. Standish-Rinn completed his PhD in Music Education at the University of North Texas, where he served as a teaching fellow conducting the UNT Chorale (Tenor-Bass Chorus) and taught courses in music education and choral conducting. He holds a Master of Music Education from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He taught high school in Texas for twenty years in the San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth areas. Standish-Rinn has served as director of the Houston Boychoir Chamber Choir and in various church positions throughout his career. Choirs under Standish-Rinn’s direction have been honored with invitations to perform for the Texas Music Educators Association in 2010 (Juan Seguin High School Chamber Choir), 2018 (Colleyville Heritage Panther Chorale), and for the 2018 Southwestern American Choral Directors Association conference (Colleyville Heritage Panther Chorale).

Standish-Rinn is a frequent choral clinician, guest conductor, adjudicator, and presenter of teacher training nationwide. His research interests include music teacher preparation, psychological factors in music education, and supporting early-career music educators. Recent and upcoming conference presentations include the International Society for Music Education World Conference, the NAfME Biennial Conference, the Society for Music Teacher Education National Conference, the International Symposium on Research in Choral Singing, the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching, the American Choral Directors Association National Conference, and the Texas Music Educators Association annual conference. His work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, on whose editorial board he serves. He is also a contributing author to GIA’s new edition of The School Choral Program.

Standish-Rinn is deeply committed to service within the profession. He has served as President of the Texas Choral Directors Association, High School Vice-President for the Texas Choral Directors Association, a TMEA Region Vocal Chair, and as a member of the ACDA COVID-19 Response Team. He currently serves as Chair of the Texas UIL Vocal Sight-Reading Committee and as co-facilitator of the Society for Music Teacher Education’s Supporting Beginning Music Teachers ASPA.