Our Director

Our Director: Nena Wallace

I had the privilege of growing up in a musical family heavily influenced by Jazz and Classical music. Victory Bible Church in Pasadena, CA cultivated my love of Gospel music and I eventually became the Youth Choir Director. Soon after I became assistant director of the Mass Choir of a neighboring church, joined a professional Gospel ensemble, and began teaching others, composing, and recording songs. Through these experiences I learned the intricacies of Gospel music and fell in love with its rich, historical, and timeless traditions.

Over the past 17 years I’ve built a strong résumé of singing, songwriting, and production credits. This includes studio background vocals for legendary Gospel recording artist Andrae Crouch, live and studio background vocals for gospel recording artist Kevin LeVar, and live vocals for gospel recording artist Lisa McClendon to name a few.

I am a singer/musician with an equal passion for teaching. After earning a Bachelor’s in Music from California State University Los Angeles where I was classically trained as an opera singer, I realized a rivaling passion to cultivate the vocal abilities of others. My love for teaching has translated into an 12 year career of training and developing singers in vocal technique, stylization, and performance. In recent years I began working with Hear and Play Music to develop a vocal mastery system that has enabled me to teach aspiring vocalists proper vocal technique on an international scale.

This journey has blessed me and enriched my life beyond anything I could have expected. It is my honor to have the opportunity to draw upon these experiences as I direct Biola’s Gospel Choir. My prayer is that this choir may be a vessel of blessing and enrichment for the members and the Biola community.

-Nena Wallace