When it was time for Kerry Krebill to pursue her master’s degree in 1977, she knew she wanted it to be in choral conducting. She wrote letters to conductors all over the country, and they all essentially told her the same thing: you should go for your doctorate. That was, after all, how one went about teaching at the university level. But she didn’t want to teach conducting, she wanted to do it. So, she continued her search.
Now, almost 50 years later, the longtime Clancy resident has made a career of conducting, including at her latest performance: Musikanten Montana’s A Concert for All Souls, on Nov. 3 in Helena. Krebill has not only proven herself as a world-class conductor, but for nearly 20 years she’s shown that Montana can be a home for equally world-class choral performance.
Because female conductors are few and far between, and Krebill’s first name is gender-neutral, these letters were often addressed “Dear Mr. Krebill.” This didn’t deter her, and she eventually met nationally recognized conductor Robert Shafer. He was directing at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., where Krebill lived at the time.
