Luke Shalz is a versatile tenor, pianist, organist, choral conductor, and music educator from the East Bay. A lifelong musician, he currently serves as Director of Music at St. Dominic's Church in Benicia, where he oversees three choirs, including a professional Schola Cantorum, dedicated to traditional liturgical music. Previously, he directed music at the Church of St. Philip the Apostle in San Francisco.
Luke is a soloist with and member of the UC Davis Chamber Singers and a founding member of The Strange Octet, an all-male Gen-Z vocal ensemble specializing in sacred Renaissance music and African American spirituals. He also regularly professionally provides Gregorian chant and sacred vocal repertoire for Santa Maria Church in Orinda and Star of the Sea Catholic Church in San Francisco. His favorite composer is J.S. Bach, whose sacred motets and keyboard works he especially treasures.
Luke studies piano under Charles Jenner, a protégé of the renowned pedagogue Karl Ulrich Schnabel, and organ with Simon Berry of the Royal College of Music in London. His vocal artistry is rooted in a lifetime of experience in solo and ensemble singing.
In addition to his musical endeavors, Luke is pursuing dual bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Classical Civilizations, Literatures, and Linguistics at the University of California, Davis.