Tim Westerhaus is passionate about transforming humankind through choral music that fosters empathy, builds inclusive community, and deepens understanding through diverse programming and collaborations. He seeks to advocate for singing among all ages and to engage choral beauty with contemporary issues relevant to society, justice, and culture in local and global communities. In 2021, he joined Northern Arizona University’s Kitt School of Music as Director of Choral Studies and since 2022, he has served as Artistic Director of Choral Arts Northwest in Seattle. 

From 2010 to 2021, Tim served as Director of Choirs and Vocal Studies at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, serving also as Music Department Chair from 2017 to 2021. He recently served as President of the Northwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and as the University & College Curriculum Officer of the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA). He founded and conducted the professional-level chamber chorus, Spokane Kantorei, and served as music director of St. John’s Cathedral. He currently serves as a member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization Board, on the Western ACDA Board as Repertoire & Resources Coordinator, and on the National ACDA Standing Committee on Collaboration and Advocacy. 

Tim has conducted collegiate and professional ensembles in the United States, Europe, Colombia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Korea, where he was a Conducting Fellow of the International Conductor Exchange Program. He has led ensembles in performances at regional conferences of ACDA and the National Association for Music Education and at WMEA state conferences. As a tenor, he sings professionally in the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and has sung there under Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, Jos van Veldhoven, John Butt, JoAnn Falletta, and Craig Hella Johnson; he performs as a solo and collaborative pianist; and he leads baroque performances from the harpsichord. Dr. Westerhaus received his music degrees from the University of Saint Thomas, studying with Angela Kasper, and from Boston University, where he studied with Ann Howard Jones, Dennis  Shrock, and Joshua Rifkin.

An outdoor enthusiast, Tim enjoys running, cross-country skiing, and backcountry camping, whether in the Washington Cascades or Arizona San Francisco Peaks.