Dr. Whitney Covalle, PhD, is a singer, researcher, and choral music educator. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Covalle was a choir director in public schools and community music organizations in urban settings for seventeen years. She served as choir director at Jones College Prep High School, a public high school in downtown Chicago which combines students from every neighborhood in the city. At Jones she grew a 40 singer choir into a 200 + voice multi-level program with a social justice mission to build a “choir family” among the diverse student body. She facilitated yearly participatory “friendship choir festivals” combining Jones Choirs with local and regional high school choirs for musical exchanges, culminating in a notable “Friendship Tour” to Detroit. Prior to her work at Jones, Dr. Covalle was the conductor of the Lincoln Park-DePaul chapter of Chicago Children’s Choir serving students age 8-18 where her choirs performed throughout the community and she co-conducted the Lyric Opera Children’s Chorus.

Dr. Covalle holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Music Education degree with choral emphasis from Westminster Choir College, and a PhD in in Music Education from Temple University.