Dan Perkins, music director/conductor, is Professor Emeritus at Plymouth State University, where in 2007 he was appointed the first Stevens-Bristow Distinguished Professor. He is music director of the Manchester Choral Society and Orchestra and founder and music director of the New Hampshire Master Chorale. He is cofounder, with Dr. Patricia Lindberg, of the Educational Theatre Collaborative.

A passionate advocate for new music, Perkins’ ensembles have premiered over 30 works by Dr. Jonathan Santore, Oliver Caplan, Kim Andre Arnesen, and others. He has led international performance tours in more than 30 countries with his various choirs, including the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus. He was principal guest conductor for the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet in Hanoi and was also on the faculty of the Bassi Brugnatelli International Conducting and Singing Symposium in Robbiate, Italy. He is an international guest conductor and choral clinician with past engagements including South Korea, Pakistan, China, Ecuador, South Africa, Chile, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Perkins conducted at Carnegie Hall for Mid-America Productions and in 2024 will conduct The Unarmed Child by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm at Lincoln Center. Perkins is also the director and pianist for Trio Veritas, a chamber music ensemble whose configuration changes with unique and varied repertoire.

He holds the degrees Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Brigham Young University. He continued his studies as a Fulbright scholar in Helsinki, Finland.