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Tim
Smith of The Baltimore Sun
wrote: “Since 1977, no one has had his
finger more clearly on the pulse of choral music in Baltimore than T.
Herbert
Dimmock.”
Mr. Dimmock is
a considered one of the foremost
Baroque experts in the country. His
conducting credits include nearly all the oratorios and anthems of
Handel, all
the major Bach works and approximately 140 Bach Cantatas.
He has conducted the music of Bach in the US,
Germany, Canada and England working with many of the world’s most
accomplished
singers and instrumentalists. His unique performances Bach’s music are
the
result of a life-long study of Bach, Bach’s music and Bach’ theology.
Maestro
Dimmock credits his approach to the influences of his teacher Helmuth
Rilling
(who studied at both seminary and conservatory) as well as his devoutly
religious parents. Maestro Dimmock has
also thoroughly explored the music of Handel, having conducted 14 of
his
oratorios and all of his major anthems (including the Chandos Anthems,
the Te
Deums, the Coronation Anthems, the Funeral Anthem and the Foundling
Hospital
Anthem). Baroque orchestral literature
is equally represented on Maestro Dimmock’s repertoire list.
<>Maestro
Dimmock is also an accomplished organist having played organ recitals
at many
of the world’s most prestigious sites, including: Westminster Abbey,
Winchester
Cathedral, the National Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
in New
York City. His conducting credits include many major ensembles
throughout the
world, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the International
Bach
Academy Orchestra, Gechinger Cantorei, Stuttgart, Germany, and the
Handel
Festival Orchestra. A graduate of Davidson College and Peabody
Conservatory,
Mr. Dimmock pursued further study with Greg Smith, Roger Wagner, Robert
Shaw
and Helmuth Rilling.
<>
Maestro
Dimmock has received numerous awards and recognitions over the years,
including: Who’s Who, International
Biographical Society, Baltimore’s Best, Mayor & City Council
Citation of
Appreciation, State of Maryland, Senate of Maryland, Baltimore County
Schools
and Baltimore City Schools.
<>
Maestro
Dimmock is particularly well-known as a builder of musical ensembles. Without exception, all of his ensembles –
professional, amateur and semi-professional – grow in musical stature,
accomplishment and visibility under his leadership.
In 1976 he assumed the position as music
director of the Handel Choir of Baltimore.
During his 25-year tenure, the choir of 35 grew into four
ensembles for
both adults and children numbering approximately 150 people. An endowment was begun and funded to nearly a
million dollars. The Handel Choir also
grew in stature from a musical “also ran” to a premier ensemble.
In
1988 Maestro Dimmock founded the Bach Concert Series.
Begun as a series of occasional concerts, the
BCS now performs a Bach Cantata or other major choral work on the first
Sunday
of each month at the historic Christ Lutheran Church in the Inner
Harbor of
Baltimore. The BCS has a rapidly growing
following (up 34% in the last season alone).
<>Maestro
Dimmock is also the choir director of what is arguably the premier
Jewish Choir
at a Conservative Synagogue in the USA, the Chizuk Amuno Congregation. At this 1,400 family synagogue, Maestro
Dimmock has transformed a small choir into a fully professional choir
that
sings the great sacred music of the Jewish tradition in an all a
cappella
setting.
Mr. Dimmock is an
accomplished organist, having
served as the music director of several prominent churches in Baltimore. He is also music director of The Harford
Choral Society, The Herb Dimmock Singers and Choir Director at Chizuk
Amuno
Synagogue.
Mr. Dimmock
lives in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania,
with his wife, Dr. Rebecca Bascom and their two children, Anne and
Thomas.
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