Dr. Carlton Monroe is Director of Music at St. Thomas Episcopal where, in addition to directing three choirs, he established and leads the St. Thomas Bach Vespers, a monthly service featuring the Cantatas of J. S. Bach. In 2011 he served as Artistic Director for the Bach Cantata Program at the acclaimed vocal music festival, SongFest. As a conductor and music educator he has taught at every level from elementary to college, including positions at Ursuline Academy and Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, Miami University (OH), and Director of Choral Activities at Georgia College & State University. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he directed the University of Cincinnati Men’s Chorus. He worked as a conductor and teacher at the Megamusik Musikschule in Freilassing, Germany, and studied with Helmuth Rilling as a Conducting Participant in the 2000 Oregon Bach Festival. As a singer he has sung locally with the Vocal Arts Ensemble and the May Festival Chorus. He currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife Jennifer, contrabassoonist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and their children Jack and Catherine.Specialties: conducting, German Lieder and diction, Music of J. S. Bach, Music of Chen Yi, music for women's choir, interdisciplinary studies, fund-raising and development,