Faculty
Charles Robinson, Ph.D.
Professor of Choral Music and Music Education, Interim Director of Choral Studies, Area Coordinator – Music Education and Music Therapy
Charles Robinson is professor of choral music and music education at the UMKC Conservatory, where he conducts the Conservatory Concert Choir, supervises graduate research, and teaches choral/vocal pedagogy and methods, choral conducting, and graduate courses in music education. Robinson earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in choral music education from Florida State University and a master’s degree in choral music from California State University, Long Beach. For many years, he taught choral and general music in middle schools and high schools in Florida, and has worked with singers of all ages, including children and senior citizens. Robinson is an active conductor/clinician for honor choruses throughout the United States and a frequent presenter of workshops for music educators. An active member of the American Choral Directors Association, he has served as Southwestern Division chair for Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives, College and University Choirs, and Research, and he has served as president of the Missouri Choral Directors Association.
Robinson’s music research has focused on choral performance evaluation, music preference, choral conducting, and inclusion in music settings, and has been presented and published at regional, national, and international levels. Robinson is a past editor of the Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education and currently serves on its editorial review board. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, and is a recipient of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award (1991 and 1999) and the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Faculty Service Award (2006 and 2013) from the UMKC Conservatory. The Missouri Choral Directors Association presented Robinson with the 2000 Luther T. Spayde Award of Excellence for significant contributions to choral music in Missouri.
Jennifer Sengin, D.M.A
Director of Choral Studies
Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri Endowed Professorship in Choral Music
Jennifer Sengin is the Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory (UMKC) where she leads the graduate choral conducting program and conducts the flagship ensemble, Conservatory Singers, and the Choral Union. In addition to ensembles, Dr. Sengin teaches graduate choral conducting and choral literature. She has mentored multiple graduate students who have been successfully placed in professional positions, admitted to graduate programs, accepted to invited conference presentations, and selected to participate in conducting master classes. In the summer of 2024, Dr. Sengin received the inaugural Newcomer Award from the Missouri Choral Directors Association.
Prior to coming to UMKC, Dr. Sengin most recently served as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Georgia State University (GSU). Under her direction, the GSU Treble Choir (formerly Women’s Chorus) won first place in The American Prize and Dr. Sengin received 2nd place in conducting. The Treble Choir has been invited to perform at the National Collegiate Choral Organization Conference (2023) and twice at the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference (2020 and 2023). While at GSU, Dr. Sengin received two university-wide awards –the 2022-2023 Non-Tenure Track Faculty Achievement Award and the 2021-2022 GSU Instructional Effectiveness Award.
An active guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and presenter, Dr. Sengin has conducted honor choirs throughout the country and recently conducted the 2025 Georgia All-State Treble Choir, 2025 Wisconsin Treble-Clef Choir, 2024 South Carolina American Choral Director’s Association TTB Honor Choir, 2023 Texas All-State Treble Choir, and additional regional honor choirs. Future engagements include guest conducting the Duruflé Requiem at Carnegie Hall with National Concerts and all-state and honor choirs in Florida, New York, California, Mississippi, and Missouri among others.
She recently participated as a Conducting Fellow with the American Choral Directors Association International Conductor Exchange Program to Germany where she led workshops at the Hochshule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover and the Hochshule für Musik, Universität der Künste Berlin. Dr. Sengin has presented sessions and served as a panelist at international, national, regional, and state conferences. In 2024, Dr. Sengin traveled to Helsinki, Finland to co-present at the International Society for Music Education World Conference. She currently serves on the National Board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and as the Repertoire and Resource Chair for Youth and Student Activities for the ACDA Southwestern Region. She also sings in the award-winning professional ensemble, mirabai.
Dr. Sengin holds degrees from The College of New Jersey (BM Music Education), Ithaca College (MM Choral Conducting), and Michigan State University (DMA Choral Conducting).
Choral Graduate Students, 2024-2025
Pursuing M.M.
Graduate Conducting Student
Pursuing M.M.
Graduate Conducting Student
Pursuing M.M.
Graduate Conducting Student
Pursuing M.M.
Graduate Conducting Student
Pursuing D.M.A.
Graduate Conducting Student