Dr. William Sauerland

Dr. William Sauerland (he/they) is an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies for the School of Music at Purdue University FortWayne, conducting choral ensembles, teaching applied voice lessons and classes in music education, and supervising student teachers. Prior to PurdueUniversity, Sauerland taught at San Francisco State University, Chabot College, Lick-Wilmerding High School, and the Pacific Boychoir Academy. Theyalso have 10 years of experience in directing community choruses, including the Queer Chorus of San Francisco and the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus.Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for singing with “limpid tone and astonishing eloquence,” Sauerland remains active as a countertenor, in recentsolo appearances for the American Bach Soloists, Echoing Air, Festival Opera Company, Folger Consort, Lafayette Master Chorale, Musica AngelicaBaroque Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Chorale. A former member of the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer,Sauerland has sung throughout the world, and recorded multiple albums for Warner Classics. In additional to classical music, he has also performed andproduced cabaret performances featuring the music of Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews. Sauerland’s writings appear in the Choral Journal, Journal ofSinging, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and chapters in Resonance (Pavane Publishing, 2021), The Choral Conductor’s Companion (GIAPublications, 2020) and The Applied Studio Model in Higher Music Education (Routledge, 2025). His own book Queering Vocal Pedagogy was publishedby Rowman & Littlefield in June 2022. Sauerland holds music degrees from Miami University, the Royal College of Music, and Columbia University.