Donald Palumbo was born in Rochester, New York and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University. His career was launched at the Dallas Opera in the 1980s, where he served as the assistant to Roberto Benaglio, the renowned Italian chorus master of La Scala. Following a 16-year tenure as chorus master at the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1991 to 2007, Palumbo assumed the same position at the Metropolitan Opera. There he was responsible for the Met Chorus’ participation in more than 20 opera productions each season, and his work with the chorus was honored with seven Grammy awards for Best Opera Recording. After stepping down from his position at the Met in June 2024, he returned to the theater in the following season to prepare the chorus in a new production of Verdi’s Aida.
Palumbo’s appointment as the next chorus director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus was recently announced, and he begins an initial three-year tenure on July 1, 2025. As chorus director, he will work with the Chicago Symphony Chorus each year to prepare multiple programs across the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s downtown season and the annual summer residency at the Ravinia Festival.
Palumbo was the music director of the Chorus pro Musica of Boston and has also served as chorus master of the Canadian Opera Company, Dallas Opera, Banff School for the Arts Summer Opera Program, the Opera Company of Boston, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In Europe, Palumbo has held the position of chorus master at the Opéra de Lyon, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Théâtre du Chȃtelet, and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. From 1999 to 2001 Palumbo was the chorus director of the Salzburg Festival, the first American to hold that position.
He has worked extensively at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, preparing the chorus for the Berlioz Festival in 1990 (Requiem, La damnation de Faust, Roméo et Juliette), as well as performances of Peter Grimes and Jenůfa. Palumbo has conducted the Radio France Chorus in several a cappella choral concerts, as well as preparing Britten’s War Requiem. He returned to the Paris in the fall of 2003, preparing the Monteverdi Choir and the Châtelet Chorus for performances of Berlioz’ Les Troyens and Lélio under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner.
Since 2014, Palumbo has been a vocal coach for the Apprentices of the Santa Fe Opera, and since 2016 has been on the faculty of the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at the Juilliard School.
In 2022 he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as guest chorus master for performances of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and in 2023 for Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, both works conducted by Riccardo Muti. He returns for performances of Verdi’s Requiem in June 2025 also under Maestro Muti.
In June 2024 he prepared the choral forces for a concert performance of Puccini’s La bohème for the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He returns for performances of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in June 2025.
In March 2025 he prepared the chorus in performances of Verdi’s La traviata staged in Kyoto and Tokyo for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy.
Donald Palumbo returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in May of 2025 to prepare and conduct a scenes program with the artists of the Ryan Opera Center.
