Frank Pooler

Frank Mairich Pooler (March 29, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was an American choirmaster and the director of choral studies at California State University, Long Beach. He also collaborated with pop music group The Carpenters.

Professional career

Known in both academic and professional music circles for his mastery of contemporary choral repertoire, Pooler served as a guest conductor, clinician, lecturer and adjudicator throughout the continental United States, Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, and Alaska. He published over 500 compositions, arrangements and editions which have been performed in Europe and North America. Articles by Frank Pooler in the area of choral art have been published in major professional journals, and he was a member of the Editorial Board of the "Choral Journal."

In 1943, while still a high school student, Pooler founded and directed the first children's choir at First (Norwegian) Lutheran Church. in 1953, studied and worked with Scandinavian composers in Norway, Sweden and Denmark resulting in the English publication of more than 100 Scandinavian choral works. In 1955, he was named a Fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

He worked for a year after that as the music director at the First Baptist Church in Albert Lea, Minnesota, before attending the University of Iowa and earning a master's degree. From there he worked for several years at Shimer College, then in Mount Carroll, Illinois. He often said that the years at Shimer were among the happiest and most productive of his life.