candidates
the TCDA Board of Directors M iddle
S chool / J u nior
Lorelai Cole is in her 13th year as head director of choirs at North Richland Middle School in Birdville ISD. Prior teaching positions include eleven years in the Hurst-EulessBedford ISD at Central Junior High and Euless Junior High, and one year as assistant director at Heritage Middle School in GrapevineColleyville ISD. For two years Lorelai served as the assistant director of the HEB ISD Elementary Honor Choir. While at Central Junior High, Lorelai’s Varsity Treble Choir was selected to perform at the 2012 Southwestern ACDA Convention. Her choirs have consistently received sweepstakes ratings at UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contests as well as Best in Class and Overall Outstanding Choir awards at music festivals and competitions. Lorelai received her BA in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from The University of Texas at Arlington. Recognitions received at UTA include the Chamber Singers Award and Vocal Department Student of the Year. Lorelai began her career as a private voice teacher at Bedford Junior High, L. D. Bell High School, and Colleyville Heritage High School. Active as a clinician and adjudicator, Lorelai holds memberships in TMEA, TCDA, ACDA, and TMAA.
If elected… I would strive to bring high quality music reading sessions as well as workshops that address the ever-changing needs of our MS/ JH teachers. With my passion for retaining students in our choral programs, I would encourage workshops on recruitment and ways to continuously improve vertical alignment from elementary music through high school choir. I would love to create a MS/ JH Choir blog as an addition to the TCDA website. Whether you are a veteran teacher or new to the profession, teach in a rural or urban area, dialogue and collaboration are priorities for strengthening our skills and knowledge. Hopefully, this would provide another way to help each other with new ideas, technology use, concert ideas, and the building of a support system. I am certain my passion, endless energy, and love for teaching MS/ JH choir will help me fulfill the duties and expectations of TCDA Middle School/Junior High Vice President. I feel honored to be nominated and would find it a great pleasure to serve TCDA.
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Jennifer Gallagher has been the head choir director at Nolan Ryan Junior High in the Alvin Independent School District since it opened in 2008. At its inception, the men’s choir consisted of three boys, and today, the program has grown into 200 students in six performing ensembles. Jennifer is currently the Fine Arts/Elective Department Chair for the campus. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston, Jennifer was the recipient of a Moores School of Music Scholarship, a Terry Foundation Scholarship, and a TMEA Scholarship. She performed with the Moores School Concert Chorale at the National ACDA Convention in 2006, at the TMEA Convention in 2008, and at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales in 2009. Jennifer also serves as the Junior High Chair for the Region XVII Vocal Division. Choirs under her direction have received consistent sweepstakes ratings at UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contests, and her varsity treble choir was selected to perform at a Bay Area Chorus Invitational Concert in 2011.
If elected… I am committed to continuing the tradition of excellence set by the current TCDA Board and their predecessors. It is truly an honor to be nominated at such an early point in my career, and I am interested in providing a fresh perspective to serve my colleagues and the future of our profession. I believe I have the organizational skills and attention to detail to effectively manage this position. I have had the privilege to mentor several young teachers, and it is my passion to help them stay motivated and enthusiastic with fresh ideas to ensure student success. It is often said that junior high is a “special” place—and when I tell people what age I teach, they usually say, “My, you are a saint!” It is my goal to search for meaningful workshops, quality repertoire, and outstanding clinicians so we junior high directors can continue our “sainthood” for years to come!
H i g h
V P Craig Griffith
is in his 18th year as choir director at Abell Junior High in Midland where he also serves as Fine Arts Chair. Craig was co-director of the Lee Freshman High School Choirs from 1999 to 2012. Under his direction, both the Abell and Lee Choirs consistently earned sweepstakes in UIL contests as well as “Best in Class” and “Overall Outstanding” awards from music festivals and competitions. Craig is a graduate of East Texas Baptist College. Prior to Midland, Craig taught at Liberty-Eylau Junior High and High School in Texarkana; at P. E. Wallace Junior High in Mt. Pleasant where he was named “Teacher of the Year”; and at Wills Point Junior High, where he developed the choir program. He was Abell’s Teacher of the Year in 2001. Craig serves Region 6 as Junior High Vocal Chair, and twice served as Region Vice-President. He served on the UIL Sight-Reading Committee as a judge at UIL Concert & Sight-Reading competitions and as an All-Region clinician across the state. Craig is a member of TMEA, TCDA, and TCTA.
If elected… It has been through TCDA that I have learned and grown as a music educator. Year after year new ideas are presented to me (and to all of us) to help us become better teachers. Tried and proven techniques breathe new life into our classrooms. Every year we come together to hone our abilities, thoughts, our classroom management, as well as find pieces of music that we hope will open the eyes of our students to see the incredible world we love—the world of choral music. If elected, I will use our rich heritage as well as our glorious future and combine educators from all levels of experience to present clinics that will enhance our teaching. I will continue the great reading session of new music and strive to include more “tried and true” reading sessions, and I will work with all board members to provide areas of pedagogy for MS/JH teachers of all levels and years of experience. It would be an honor to serve as your MS/JH Vice President and along with you, be “Our Voice” with the board.
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