what is transept?

Transept is a vocal ensemble uniting some of the finest consort singers in the nation with select musicians based in Sioux Falls, SD.  

A transept’s span intersects the nave to give a structure its cruciform shape. The transept carries the weight of the structure’s meaning, in other words. It changes a physical space into a sign of transcendence. 

Transept is inspired by the architecture of beauty. We interweave music for vocal consort, soloists, and choir to draw audiences into an intimate, meaningful journey. We fill spaces with the sounds of transcendence.

Founder & artistic director

Founder & Artistic Director

Timothy J. Campbell is the Founder and Artistic Director of the vocal ensemble Transept, which is a Winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance and has been praised by critics for its “elegant, profound beauty.” He also serves as Associate Professor of Music at the University of South Dakota and is the Chorus Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, hailed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as “one of America’s boldest orchestras.” As a professional ensemble tenor, he has performed with Grammy®-winning ensembles and toured across the United States and Europe. As a conductor, teacher, and vocalist, Dr. Campbell brings a wealth of experience to his work with Transept.

A Sioux Falls native, Dr. Campbell is a passionate advocate for the development of vocal arts in South Dakota. This led him to found Transept in 2016. This dynamic vocal ensemble brings together some of the finest professional ensemble singers in the nation with select musicians in the region. Transept’s innovative and imaginatively crafted programs interweave works for vocal consort, soloists, and chamber choir spanning ten centuries of music — from plainchant and Renaissance masterworks to contemporary choral repertoire. Transept has also developed education and outreach initiatives which have led to collaborations in concert and masterclass settings with numerous high school, church, and collegiate ensembles in the state. Transept’s albums Live at the Cathedral and All is Miracle, featuring mastering and production by the Grammy-winning studio Soundmirror, are available on all platforms. 

Since the fall of 2014, Dr. Campbell has taught at the University of South Dakota. In addition to conducting the Symphonic Choir and Collegium Musicum, he teaches courses in choral literature, applied voice, and sight-singing. He also leads conducting practicums for undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Campbell previously served on the faculty of West Virginia University, where he worked alongside the 2019 Grammy®-Award Music Educator of the Year, Dr. Jeffery Redding. He has also served as Associate Director for Men's Consort Houston and the CORO Vocal Artists, and as Director of the St. Luke's Early Music Ensemble (TX).

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s 2021-2022 Centennial Season marked the appointment of Dr. Campbell to the post of Chorus Director, making him only the third director to serve during the nearly four decades of the SDSO Chorus. He has conducted the SDSO in performances of Bach's Cantata 159 and Mendelssohn's O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, and has prepared the Chorus for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Brahms’ A German Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C minor, as well as annual performances of Christmas with the Symphony: ’Tis the Season! and Handel’s Messiah. His preparation of the chorus for Douglas Moore’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Giants in the Earth is heard on Pentatone’s world-premiere recording of the work.

As a tenor, Dr. Campbell has performed with numerous professional ensembles around the country, including the Grammy®-winning ensembles Conspirare and the Houston Chamber Choir; The Rose Ensemble, VocalEssence, The Singers, Tucson Chamber Artists, Cantare Houston, the South Dakota Chorale, and Kinnara. He toured Germany and Spain with the Rose Ensemble, an internationally acclaimed early music vocal ensemble of twelve who took first prize in the prestigious Tolosa International Choral Competition. He also performed in Carnegie and Avery Fisher Hall with Conspirare, and with the Houston Chamber Choir in a performance of Tallis’ monumental 40-part Spem in Alium sung 1-part under the direction of Peter Phillips of the Tallis Scholars. 

Dr. Campbell holds degrees from Bemidji State University (B.S.), the University of Minnesota (M.M.), and the University of Arizona (D.M.A.).