Donald Nally
An visionary American choral conductor who builds haunting sonic architectures with his professional ensemble, The Crossing.
Born 1960 (age 66)·Musical artist·Birthday: December 27·Baby Boomers
Biography
Donald Nally operates at the demanding intersection of precision, innovation, and profound emotional communication. His work is not about preserving a canon but actively expanding it. As the founder and conductor of The Crossing, a professional chamber choir based in Philadelphia, he has commissioned and premiered hundreds of new works, treating the human voice as the most versatile and immediate of instruments. A professor at Westminster Choir College, he shapes future generations with the same rigorous, collaborative ethos. The Grammy awards lining his shelf are testament to the arresting quality of his projects, which often tackle complex contemporary themes—climate change, migration, grief—transforming them into collective musical experiences. Nally’s choirs don't just sing notes; they build immersive, often unsettling, and always meticulously crafted worlds of sound.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Donald was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Donald Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Donald's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 40
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 50
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 60
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 66 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Has won four Grammy Awards, primarily for Best Choral Performance, with his ensemble The Crossing.
- Commissioned and premiered over 150 new choral works as conductor of The Crossing.
- Serves as the Director of Choral Organizations at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
- Previously held the position of chorus master for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Welsh National Opera.
Did You Know?
He founded The Crossing in 2005, a choir dedicated exclusively to new music.
Nally's 2018 Grammy-winning album, 'Zealot Canticles', features works by composer Ted Hearne.
He frequently collaborates with the experimental chamber orchestra International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).
Before focusing on new music, he had an established career in opera as a chorus master.
“The music is not on the page; it’s in the room between us.”
