Celebrating Lynne Gackle’s Bright and Revered Career as She Sets to Retire in July

Hailed as a mentor and role model by many, Lynne Gackle has made an impact with her artistic vision, intellectual rigor, persistent spirit, nurturing heart, and creative Christian witness.

After 14 years with the School of Music, Gackle, Ph.D., retires this summer. She joined the faculty as Associate Director of Choral Activities in 2009 and became Director of Choral Activities in spring 2016. She has served as the Division Director of Ensembles since 2015. Beyond Baylor, Gackle's dedication to musical excellence has also included her work as President Elect, President, and Past President for the American Choral Directors Association, and her presence nationally as a conductor and advocate for women's vocal health.

When Gackle arrived at Baylor, her primary responsibility was teaching the Baylor Concert Choir and Baylor Women's Choir, and in 2011, she organized Bella Voce, which quickly became a flagship choral ensemble. Because she so deeply loved the process of working with Bella Voce and Concert Choir, Gackle remained the director of these two ensembles throughout her career.

"I have always been a teacher," said Gackle. "One thing that attracted me to Baylor was the fact that they were interested in teaching." Recalling her motivation to pursue a musical education and career, Gackle says: "All I wanted to do was get to become a better teacher, because I think that a good conductor is first and foremost a great musician, but also an excellent teacher. My love was always in process. I love the product, but process is very important to me."

Another element of Gackle's job when she began working at Baylor benefitted from her passion for process: Coordinating the Baylor All-State Choir Summer Camp. Not only is the camp a strong recruitment tool, but it is a highly successful program—out of 265 participants, around 58 to 60 win spots in an All-State Choir.

One of the most visible hallmarks of Gackle's career is her impact on A Baylor Christmas. Thanks to Gackle's collaboration with fellow faculty and close work with KWTX, this Baylor favorite has become a national holiday tradition, expanding Baylor's reach as the performance is televised in more than 60 cities every year. Even in the face of obstacles like the COVID-19 pandemic, Gackle ensured the Baylor community would still enjoy musical holiday festivities by spearheading Countdown to Christmas, a creative alternative to a full-scale production.

"[People] know Baylor has great academics, [and we've] got great sports, but [we] also have great fine arts and music, that speak to the depth of the School of Music," said Gackle.

When the pandemic hit, Gackle was serving as the National President for the American Choral Directors Association, and along with COVID-19 came monumental setbacks in music-making. In a position of leadership in the musical world during that pivotal time, Gackle galvanized and participated in groundbreaking research efforts that assessed how aerosol production spreads the COVID-19 virus in the context of music.

A widely cited scholar, Dr. Gackle is internationally recognized for her research on the female adolescent voice, and authored Finding Ophelia's Voice, Opening Ophelia's Heart: Nurturing the Adolescent Female Voice (Heritage Music).

She actively serves as a choral clinician and conductor, nationally and internationally. She has conducted All-State, festival choirs and clinics in more than 30 states, several regional ACDA honor choirs and two ACDA national honor choirs. Her choirs have performed at American Choral Directors Association state, regional, and national conferences as well as at the Music Educators National Conference Biennial Convention (currently known as NAFME). For the past 20 years, she has served as guest conductor for various National Honor Choirs at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Dr. Gackle is the recipient of numerous awards including Baylor's Outstanding Faculty Award in Research (2012); the Florida ACDA chapter's Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Service Award for dedicated service, leadership, and excellence; the highly coveted Texas Choir Master Award (2021) by the Texas Choral Directors Association; and the 2023 MacPherson Choral Prize for choral excellence in the state of Texas by the San Antonio Chamber Choir.

Reflecting on the many accomplishments over her 44-year music career, Dr. Gackle credits her colleagues and collaborators for excellent teamwork and a strong vision. And at the heart of all her work, she is most proud of her students.

"Students are the reason why we're here," Gackle said. "They're the highlight for me and they always have been—just the joy that I've gotten from watching them grow. . . [Educators] plant seeds and we might never see some of those seeds grow, but when you see them begin to sprout and develop and you know that they're now touching other lives—that's the joy and that's the blessing of teaching."