Wishart Bell practices the choral art in Northern Indiana, where he conducts Vesper Chorale, Vesper Chamber Orchestra, and the Children's Choir of Michiana. He is also Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church, and leads Cantus Cathedralis, a polyphonic choir based at St. Matthew Cathedral of South Bend. He has performed and toured in the United States, Canada, and Romania, leading concerts, recitals, festivals and clinics. Currently Associate Faculty in voice at Bethel College, he has taught at The American Conservatory of Music, Goshen College, and the University of Richmond. In Canada, he taught at Sir Wilfred Laurier University and Emmanuel Bible College. Bell serves as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Community Choirs in the American Choral Directors Association. His research has focused on choral-orchestral repertoire from the 17 th and 18 th Centuries, specifically performance practice and imagery, unifying articulations and nuance between singers and players, and creating authentic and expressive performances. Vesper Chorale has also explored 20 th Century French composers such as Fauré, Duruflé, and Poulenc, and has performed and recorded 20 th Century American choral repertoire.

Since the 1993 founding of Vesper Chorale, Dr. Bell has focused on unique, collaborative, educational and performance programming. Through the Vesper Chorale Basically Baroque Concert Series, he develops partnerships between the choir, orchestra, and academic music departments to study and perform oratorio. Following a critically acclaimed performance of Handel's Messiah at Andrews University, this series performed such works as Haydn's Creation, Mozart's Requiem and C Minor Mass, and Fauré's Requiem, in addition to Bach's Magnificat, and several of his motets and cantatas. The company has travelled to Southwestern Michigan College, Lake Michigan College, Indiana/Purdue University Fort Wayne, Grace College, Manchester College, Grace United Methodist in Kokomo, IN, St Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo, MI. This work led to a Senior Artist Residence at the Banff Centre [sic.] for the Arts, for preparation of Mozart's Requiem and Bach's St. John Passion. Bell subsequently published Mozart's Requiem: A Guide to Performing Musicians, in the Journal of the Conductors' Guild. He has given lectures on the theological symbolism in the St. John Passion, and published articles in Creator Magazine, The American Organist, and Worship Arts magazine

His musical interests include early music, explored largely through Cantus Cathedralis at St. Mathew Cathedral. He was commissioned in 2004 to develop this ensemble to examine the treasury of Catholic sacred music, ranging from medieval chant to the 20 th Century, focusing on repertoire of the 15 th, 16 th, and 20 th Centuries.

In November 2008 Bell launched a new initiative, a Diverse Journeys Concert Series, partnering with ethnic communities in celebrating the music and history of their respective cultures. He conducted Vesper Chorale in a command performance of the Holocaust Cantata ­- Songs from the Camps in commemoration of Kristallnacht (The night of broken glass) in 2008 and again in 2009. Vesper Chorale gave a lauded performance of that work at the Indiana Choral Director's Association in Indianapolis, in the summer of 2009. Public Television Station WNIT recorded the November production for airing in April 2010.

In 2004, under the sponsorship of Vesper Chorale and First United Methodist Church, Bell formed The Children's Choir of Michiana. This choir performed at the 2006 Dowagiac Union Schools Choral Festival involving over 200 children and youth. In 2008 the Children's Choir of Michiana hosted its first annual invitational choral festival. In May of 2009 CCM celebrated its 5 th Anniversary by performing the Rutter "Mass of the Children" with Vesper Chorale and Orchestra.

Dr. Bell conducts oratorio performances at First United Methodist Church, as well as the major literature for organ and orchestra - including the complete Mozart Church Sonatas and Poulenc's Organ Concerto. Oratorio performances have included works by Haydn, Mozart, Handel, Bach, Rutter, Thoms, Ray, Hailstork, and others. He has conducted masses by Beethoven and Schubert.

This work has garnered for Dr. Bell and Vesper Chorale numerous awards. In April of 2008, the Mayor of South Bend presented a citation for significant contribution to the city through the arts. Additional awards include the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation Award, the Leo Heim Memorial Award, and Elnora Stickley Foundation grants. Vesper Chorale and the Children's choir of Michiana have received grants from the Indiana Arts Council, the Indiana Council for the Humanies, the St. Joseph County Community Foundation, and the Josephson Music Trust. They have received major funding from the Memorial Hospital Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank.