A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Philharmonie Austin Chorus and Brass
Allen Hightower, guest conductor
Chris Oelkers, organist
December 18, 2025 at 7:30 pm
$40 General | $35 Senior | $5 Student
Saint Martin’s Lutheran Church
606 W 15th St
Austin, TX 78701
Allen Hightower guest conductor
As the director of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas, Allen Hightower leads the master’s and doctoral programs in choral conducting, overseeing a comprehensive choral program of eight ensembles. Allen serves as the conductor of the UNT A Cappella Choir, and the UNT Grand Chorus, which collaborates annually with the UNT Symphony Orchestra in performances of major choral-orchestral works. As a member of UNT’s Early Music faculty, he leads the vocal ensemble Vox Aquilae, an artistic partner of the UNT Baroque Orchestra.
Since arriving at UNT in 2016, the A Cappella Choir has received invitations to perform for the Texas Music Educators Association in 2020, the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in 2021, and the Southwestern Division of ACDA in 2022. Vox Aquilae and the UNT Baroque Orchestra were featured at the January 2022 virtual conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization.
Before his appointment at UNT, he held the Weston Noble Endowed Chair in Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he served as conductor of the renowned Nordic Choir and artistic director of Christmas at Luther. From 2000-2010, Hightower served as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Sam Houston State University. His high school teaching career included tenures at Klein High School in Spring, Texas, and at Odessa Permian High School in Odessa, where he led the PHS Kantorei and Satin Strings in performance at the 1996 TMEA convention. Outside of his work in academia, Allen has served as the Artistic Director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra, leading an annual concert series of choral-orchestral masterworks. As a deeply committed church musician, he has served Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches in Texas, California, and Minnesota. He currently serves on the music staff of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and has served as the Church Music Vice-President of the Texas Choral Directors Association. He was an Adjunct Professor of Conducting at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
As a conducting student of the Texas choral legend Bev Henson, Allen earned his undergraduate degree in music education and piano from Sam Houston State University. He went on to earn a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Eastman School of Music where he was a student of Baroque scholar Alfred Mann, and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Baylor University, where he served as assistant conductor to Stephen Heyde and accompanist to Donald Bailey and the Baylor Chamber Singers. Allen earned his doctorate in conducting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as assistant conductor to Donald Neuen.
Allen is a seventh-generation Texan and resides in McKinney, Texas, with his wife, Dr. Kristin Hightower, and their two daughters, Caroline and Julianne.