Brandon Monse
Brandon Monse, Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Western High School (Davie, Fla.) has served as the choral director there since 2006. Under his direction, Western’s choruses have received Superior ratings at district and state level music performance assessments sanctioned by the Florida Vocal Association. With over eighteen years at the podium, he is Western’s longest-tenured director.
Mr. Monse holds Master of Music Education and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from The Florida State University College of Music.
In addition to choral direction, Mr. Monse is an active ensemblist and has performed in choral ensembles for over thirty years, under the baton of acclaimed conductors including Dr. Kevin Fenton, Dr. André Thomas, Bobby McFerrin, and Krzysztof Penderecki. He has performed at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Rodney Eichenberger. He completed vocal studies with distinguished vocalists including the late Janice Harsanyi, Roy Delp, and David Wingate, and Yvonne Ciannella, as well as baritone Kyle Ferrill, and tenor Thomas Glenn; and conducting studies with Dr. André Thomas, Dr. Kevin Fenton, and Dr. Judy Bowers.
Mr. Monse has performed as a baritone soloist for several institutions including St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Delray Beach, FL; Church of the Palms, Delray Beach, FL; and Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, Tallahassee, FL. He is an inaugural member (2008) of the Festival Singers of Florida, touring Florida under the direction of Kevin Fenton.
Mr. Monse is the statewide Technology Committee chair for the Florida Vocal Association, and was previously chair of FVA District 15 (2015–2017). He holds memberships in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), The National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Florida Music Education Association (FMEA), Florida Vocal Association (FVA), the Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME), and the Broward County Vocal Teachers Association (BCVTA). He also holds individual membership in the House Rabbit Society (HRS).