Isaac Boulter

About Isaac Boulter

I was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, and began studying piano at age five under Corinne Sneller, and remained her student until my graduation from high school. I sang from a young age as well, and started singing with choirs during secondary schooI, notably by audition for the North Carolina State Honor Choir and the Mars Hill University Choral Festival Choir. My parents encouraged me to study music in a variety of ways, which helped me develop a wide range of interests and abilities.
I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, continuing my piano studies under Dr. Clara Yang and earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Highest Distinction and Honors, with a Second Major in Russian Language and Literature, in 2019. While at university I was a member by audition of the Chamber Singers, in which I was a section leader and soloist; I was also a pianist for the UNC Wind Ensemble, and performed in a variety of chamber groups. In 2018 I received the Mildred Brown Mayo Undergraduate Research Fund Award for work at the U.S. Library of Congress in the Sergei Rachmaninov Archive, which contributed to my Honors Thesis entitled “Life of an Outcast: Examining the Intersection of Exile, Identity, and Historical Narratives through the Music of Sergeĭ V. Rakhmaninov.” Upon graduating I received the University’s Chamber Singers Award and Outstanding Performance in Piano Award, as well as the Paul Debreczeny Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in Slavic Languages and Literatures.
I first studied in the UK as an exchange student at the University of Glasgow in 2017, and returned to begin a Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2021, where I'm currently a student of Julian Wilkins. I've also studied conducting under Paul Spicer and Sarah Tennant-Flowers. I began working as a deputy lay clerk at Birmingham Cathedral Church of St Philip in November of 2021, and became a full lay clerk in September of 2022. As a keyboardist, a vocalist, and a conductor I work in all kinds of repertoire, from the Baroque as a harpsichordist or continuo player, to the modern as a contemporary vocalist and conductor, to the popular as a new member of the thriving Birmingham folk scene. I also compose and arrange, primarily for vocal ensembles but also for instruments, and have experience as a copyist, transcriber, and editor.