Secular or sacred, and everything between, Brad Croushorn infuses positive energy into his songwriting, crafting songs with a message to touch minds and hearts. He hopes his music will inspire a chain reaction of encouragement and care.
Brad’s hymn ”Open Wide the Doors“ was selected as winner of the Duke University Chapel 2021 Hymn Competition out of sixty entries from three countries. It was premiered at Duke Chapel in early 2022 and will be published in an upcoming new hymn collection from MorningStar Music as well as a new hymnal for Duke Chapel.
Brad holds an MM in sacred music from Westminster Choir College and a BA in music performance and education from Eastern Mennonite University. He is Associate Editor of School Choral Publications at Alfred Music Publishing. He has studied composition and organ privately and is a member of the North Carolina Songwriters Co-op, Carolina Contemporary Composers, and ASCAP. Throughout his life he has ministered as a musician in Protestant and Catholic churches as well as Jewish synagogues in congregations ranging from 100 to 11,000 members. Brad is actively involved in music ministry in the beautiful Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina. At heart, his outlook is ecumenical and inclusive, and this pours into all of his music.
Brad has taught piano and voice privately and in group settings and has conducted choirs of every age and skill level. As a performer, he has sung in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and at Avery Fisher Hall in New York and for many years at the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival in Harrisonburg, VA. He has also performed with: Rutgers University Collegium Musicum, Vox Fidelis, Stanford University Early Music Singers, and the Josquin Singers (part of Bay Area Classical Harmonies), Duke University (Collegium & Vespers Choir), and Concentus Carolina (based in Chapel Hill, NC). Brad currently sings as a lyric bass-baritone with the NC State Choral Artists and the Triangle Vocal Project.
When not performing or writing, Brad immerses himself in the possibilities of song all around. From the dance-like, rhythmic swaying of tree branches to the squawking calls of wild birds, or even the constant hum of human-made machinery ... music in some form surrounds us everywhere. Taking time to be still and make these discoveries is a cherished gift!
