Conductor, clinician, and educator, Dr. Dara Gillis earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio University and earned her D.M.A. in Conducting from Ohio State University. Dr. Gillis is Director Emeritus of the Choral and Theater programs at Rutherford B. Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio. During her tenure in Delaware, her ensembles received consistent superior ratings at both district and state level adjudicated events and performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Dr. Gillis is an active adjudicator and guest conductor. In May of 2026, she returns to Carnegie Hall to conduct a national festival chorus performance of Faure’s Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48. Dr. Gillis is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and has served the Ohio Choral Directors Association as President, Vice President, East Central Region Chair, and Membership Chair. In July, she became president of OCDA for the second time and is only the second person in the organization’s history to have this honor. Dr. Gillis resides in Powell, Ohio with her husband, Mark.