About
Dr. Desiree Balfour is currently the choral director at Granada Hills Charter High School and is an Adjunct Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. In 2020 she completed her doctoral degree in choral conducting at UCLA where she directed and sung for UCLA’s School of Music’s choral ensembles, chorus-mastered for the Opera department, and conducted the Symphony. Her research and writing endeavors have taken her across the country and connected her with some of the world’s leading scholars. While at UCLA, Dr. Balfour was also named the inaugural Paul and Barbara Bent Choral Fellow for Meritorious Achievement, was honored with the Dean's Medal, and selected as the graduate commencement speaker. In 2021 the performance The Passion of Yeshua, earned the UCLA's Chamber Singers the Grammy Award, "Best Choral Performance" for which she participated both as a singer and also in preparing the choir.
A native of southern California, Dr. Balfour received the Most Outstanding Student Award in Music Education while completing her music education degree from the CSU-Northridge. While completing her Master’s degree in Music from the internationally recognized Choral Conducting program housed each summer at CSU-Los Angeles, she earned special recognition in graduate studies.
After serving for five years as director of choral and guitar activities at Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles, Dr. Balfour became one of three music teachers to start the music department at Ramon C. Cortines High School of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Balfour’s choral, guitar, and vocal jazz ensembles, have all been recognized throughout California as performing at Superior levels at Heritage, District, Verdugo Hills A cappella Scholarship, and Forum Music Festivals. In 2013, the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) presented Dr. Balfour with America’s Excellence in Guitar Education award. As well, in 2014, Dr. Balfour was honored to be named a quarterfinalist, selected from more than 7,000 nominations, for the second annual Music Educator Award presented by the Grammy Foundation.
Over the past decade or so, Dr. Balfour has had the privilege of directing several honor choirs and serving as a choral adjudicator for Southern CA Vocal Association. Additionally, over the course of five years, she conducted members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s (LAMC) Chamber Singers while collaborating with the LAMC Voices Within oratorio project. Dr. Balfour was also a long-term officer for Los Angeles Secondary Music Teacher’s Association who worked to developing curriculum and organize events and opportunities for both teachers and students. Before starting her doctorate program, Dr. Balfour was the first assistant conductor for VOX Femina. She was pivotal in launching VOX's youth outreach program and still sings with the ensemble today.