Board of Directors
pmcdermott@vaacda.org - 434.395.2500
Dr. Pamela McDermott is the Director of Choral Activities at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, where she teaches three ensembles, beginning and advanced conducting, choral methods, and aural skills. She is the Chorus Master for Farmville’s Summer Garden Opera and directs choir and handbells at Farmville United Methodist Church. She is also a founding member of the Piedmont Singers, an eight-voice professional ensemble performing classical a cappella repertoire.
Pam received a BM in Choral Music Education (piano) from ECU and an MM in Theory/Composition from JMU. She completed a DMA in Choral Conducting with a cognate in Choral Pedagogy at UNC-G, where she was active in the opera program as vocal coach, chorus master, and conductor. She is also experienced in show choir, choreography, vocal jazz, and other pop styles as a performer and clinician.
Amy Sprague Moir studied piano and voice at James Madison University where she earned a B.A. in music education. She later received an M.M.E. from Florida State University. She has completed seventeen years of teaching music for Fairfax County Public Schools at elementary, middle and high school levels. Mrs. Moir has served as a children’s chorus conductor, piano accompanist, and soloist at Vienna Presbyterian Church. She actively sings with Voce Chamber Singers and performs as a soprano soloist and piano accompanist throughout the area. Mrs. Moir works as a clinician, conductor, accompanist, and adjudicator on the state and district level for choral music. She is currently Choral Director and Tri-M advisor at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, VA. She is a member of the Virginia Music Educators Association. When not pursuing her music career, she enjoys spending time with her twin boys, daughter, husband, and two dogs.
mmwoods@fcps.edu - 571.423.4542
Margie Woods is completing her sixth year as Choral Music Resource Teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools, di. Prior to taking on this role, she taught for ten years in middle and high schools in Fairfax County, including Hayfield Secondary and J.E.B. Stuart High School. Her choirs consistently received superior and excellent ratings, and received two invitations to perform at the VMEA In-Service Conference in 2006 and 2008. She previously served as VA-ACDA’s R&S chair for Ethnic/Multicultural Music from 2006-2012.
Currently, Ms. Woods is a Presidential Scholar at George Mason University, completing a PhD in music education. Her research interests center around multicultural choral music as well as the health and well-being of music teachers. Her dissertation topic is on alleviating the difficulties in teaching multicultural choral music.
Jane DeLoach Morison, Artistic Director of the Mountain Empire Children's Choral Academy received her BME (summa cum laude) from East Tennessee State University, her MM from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, and has completed further study at L’académie de musique de Sion in Switzerland.
Choirs under her direction have performed at places as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the Festival of the Aegean (Greece), ACDA divisional and state conferences, and the Bristol Motor Speedway. She is on the faculty of King University and the Virginia Suzuki Institute, and has directed and taught at the Montreat Worship and Music Conference, Barter Theatre Youth Academy, ETSU Summer Piano Camp, and UNC-Greensboro Summer Music Camp.
For her work in the performing arts and music education she was honored by Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts (2010), and Virginia Celebrates Children in the Arts (2012).
bill.podolski@gmail.com - 516-384-5147
Bill Podolski has been the Director of Choral Activities at H-B Woodlawn for the past eleven years where he teaches six middle and high choral ensembles. Having earned a reputation for excellence, the HBW choirs are frequently invited to perform throughout the community, in major concert halls and in collaboration with fellow artistic organizations. The HBW Chamber Singers have offered featured performances for the 2015 Virginia Music Educators Association Conference, during the Washington Chorus’ Candlelight Christmas Concert at the Kennedy Center, and for Vice President Joe and Dr. Jill Biden at the Naval Observatory. In addition, Bill has produced and directed the the HBW Musical productions for the past 11 years. Bill is an active member of ACDA and NAfME. In 2008 he was awarded the Colleen Kirk Award by the ACDA Southern Division for dedication and excellence in the first three years of teaching. Bill has formerly served as the Membership Chair and President of our VA-ACDA Chapter. Bill earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education from George Mason University, Master’s Degree in Music Education from Florida State University, and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at GMU.
Brandy Buckles Baxter is the Choir Director at Dublin Middle School and the Communications Director for the Virginia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. She is a past participant in the VMEA Leadership Symposium and has served as VMEA District VII Chair and Choral Representative.
Choirs under Mrs. Baxter’s direction have received superior ratings at competitions and Choral Assessment. Through the efforts of the band program and her choral program, Mrs. Baxter’s previous school earned its first ever VMEA Blue Ribbon School designation.
Mrs. Baxter has accompanied All-County and All-District choral events as well as the choirs at Virginia Tech and Hollins University. She co-presented a VMEA conference session entitled, “Musical Teamwork: Collaboration Strategies for Choral Conductors and Pianists.”
Mrs. Baxter has served as Music Director and Pianist for collegiate and secondary school productions. She was Vocal Coach for Persephone at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starring Julia Stiles. She has over 25 years of experience as a church musician.
Brandy is a graduate of Virginia Tech and has completed graduate studies at Hollins University. In addition to her teaching duties, she remains an active collaborative pianist in the New River Valley.
Repertoire and Resources
Lifelong R&R Chairs
Active as a conductor of choral, orchestral, and operatic repertoire, Michael Slon is director of the University Singers and UVA Chamber Singers, and a professor on music faculty at the University of Virginia, where he also guest conducts the Charlottesville Symphony. He also serves as Music Director of the Oratorio Society of Virginia, and has created a series of new artistic partnerships with that chorus, including an acclaimed 2014 semi-staged production of Bernstein’s Candide with Ash Lawn Opera, performances with regional orchestras and youth choruses, and a Community Sing-In to benefit local charities. His ensembles have sung for Philip Glass, and the creators of Les Misérables, toured the United States and Europe, and previously collaborated with artists including Bobby McFerrin, Meredith Monk, and Franz Welser-Möst. His repertoire has ranged from Bach’s Mass in B minor, Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, and Verdi’s Requiem to Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, and Bernstein’s Mass. He previously served as visiting conducting faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory, and assistant conductor of Cincinnati's May Festival Chorus, and the Cornell University choruses. Also a pianist, composer, and writer, his first book Songs from the Hill has been cited in a variety of publications, and his work on Leonard Bernstein recently received the national Julius Herford Prize from the American Choral Directors Association. As a composer, his work was recently presented by Vocalis in NYC’s Merkin Hall, and was heard at a regional ACDA convention in 2018.
CJ Redden-Liotta serves as Minister of Music at Vienna Baptist Church and directs choral activities at Falls Church High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. He is the Music and Worship Repertoire and Resources Chairperson and Lifelong Learning area coordinator for Virginia ACDA. As a musician called to ministry, he has served churches in seven different denominations over the past twenty years. He is an active member of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and was the recipient of the 2014 and 2015 Lovelace Scholarship. He was also recently selected as one of 12 participants to serve in a two-year master class in songleading at Virginia Theological Seminary led by Alice Parker, Ysaye Barnwell, and Marilyn Haskel. Mr. Redden-Liotta is a graduate of the University of North Texas (BA) and George Mason University (MM,) and is a DMA candidate (ABD) in choral conducting at George Mason University. His research interests include incorporating song leading technique into the choral rehearsal and the music of Hugo Distler.
College R&R Chairs
Shane Lynch, a noted conductor, composer, and music educator, assumed the position Director of Choral Activities at Washington and Lee University in the Fall of 2009. He conducts the University Singers, Cantatrici (women’s choir), and the Men’s Glee Club, and oversees W&L’s innovative and unique conductor mentorship/teacher preparation program. Dr. Lynch is a sought-after clinician, having worked with honor choirs in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Quite interested in musical scholarship, some of his recent research includes trends of Neo-Impressionism in modern American choral music and eurhythmic movements in the choral rehearsal and performance setting. He is also noted for conducting large-scale productions, including operas, oratorios, and festival concerts. Dr. Lynch has led choirs on several national and international tours, including featured performances in Scotland, South Korea, Italy, and Ireland.
Dr. Lynch has received numerous awards as an educator, including the Junior Faculty Member of the Year at Monmouth College and the Outstanding Faculty Service Award at the University of Wisconsin—Barron. An active composer interested in a wide variety of compositional styles and mediums, he has commissioned compositions ranging from art song to octavos to choral/orchestral works. His piece Joseph and Grace, debuted in Ireland for the 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising, recently won the 2017 National Collegiate Choral Organization composition contest.
Prior to his appointment at Washington and Lee, Dr. Lynch served as Visiting Director of Choral Activities at Monmouth College (Illinois) and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin—Barron as well as several past positions in church music and teaching high school science.
Shane Lynch graduated from Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota), with degrees in Music and Physics, received the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington.
Joseph Trivette is the holder of the Albert Endowed Chair of Music at Southwest Virginia Community College. Trivette received his Ph.D. in Music Education through Florida State University. He is also a graduate of Appalachian State University where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Performance as well as a Master's Degree in Piano Performance. Ensembles under his direction at Southwest include the SWCC Community Chorus, SWCC Jazz Ensemble, SWCC Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and Southwest Virginia Children's Choir. The Community Chorus under his leadership has performed at Duke Chapel, the Washington National Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, and Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta, among other venues. The Southwest Virginia Children’s Choir, under Trivette’s directorship, has twice been chosen to perform for the Virginia Music Educators’ Association Conference. They have sung by invitation at Duke Chapel and at Atlanta’s Peachtree Presbyterian Church, and have performed the National Anthems of the U.S. and Canada at an Atlanta Braves baseball game.
Other successful programs established under Trivette’s leadership include SWCC Band Day, Jazz-America’s Music program, and the Chamber Music Institute. Trivette also implements the SWCC Recital Series and performs solo and duo/trio piano recitals. He frequently serves as conductor/accompanist for various all-county and all-district festivals. At Southwest,Trivette teaches music theory, music history, music appreciation, class piano, and jazz improvisation. Trivette received the NISOD Excellence Award for superior Community College teaching in 2003. He was named the 2006-2008 VCCS Chancellor's Commonwealth Professor, as well as the 2008 SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Nominee from Southwest Virginia Community College. He was also honored with the 2008 VCCA Faculty Showcase award, and was named the 2011 SWCC Nominee for VCCS Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2014, he was nominated for the Governor's Community Service and Volunteerism Award, and in 2015 he received a Letter of Commendation from the Governor of Virginia.
meredith.y.bowen@gmail.com - 540.831.5260
Dr. Meredith Y. Bowen is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Radford University where she conducts three choral ensembles and teaches courses in conducting, vocal pedagogy, choral literature, and choral methods. Bowen was recently selected as one of three conducting fellows from a national competition by Chorus America and was a finalist for the 2014 choral conducting award from The American Prize.
Her doctoral research focused on restoring music of seventeenth-century Italian nuns for contemporary women’s choruses. Eight restored editions are currently under review for publication. Prior to her appointment at Radford, Bowen taught K-12 general music, choir, and band in Lansing, MI, and was the Artistic Director of multiple ensembles in Michigan including: Sistrum - Lansing Women’s Chorus, Holland Chorale, Battle Creek Girls Chorus, and Battle Creek Community Chorus.
Bowen holds a B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University, an M.M. and a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University.
Youth R&R Chairs
Leslie Moruza Dripps is the Executive and Artistic Director of City Singers Youth Choirs in Richmond, Virginia. She received her bachelor’s degree in music education from James Madison University and Orff I certification at VCU and has taught choral and vocal music at the elementary, middle and high school levels, from public school to church settings. Leslie frequently adjudicates choral festivals and directs all-area choral ensembles throughout Virginia, and also performs as a vocalist in a variety of venues, from recording studios to classical soprano repertoire. She is a published composer and performer with commercial and film credits with her band “Moruza.” Leslie is currently serving as the R&R Chair for Children’s and Community Youth Choirs for the Virginia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.
Megan Cartwright is a High School Choral director with over 15 years of teaching experience in Fairfax and Hanover counties in Virginia. She is a graduate of James Madison University, and holds a Masters of Music Education from Boston University. Megan’s choirs have been selected to participate in many wonderful endeavors over the years, most recently making an appearance at the White House. Mrs. Cartwright loves to work with developing choirs as a clinician and has a small voice and piano studio in addition to teaching high school. High School choral repertoire is a passion, and she enjoys working with teachers to select high quality appropriate music for choirs.
Megan is currently taking a break from professional singing to raise her three children in Hanover County Virginia, where her husband is the youth minister at a church, and where she has the opportunity to lead children’s music.
Repertoire-Specific R&R Chairs
DARDEN PURCELL is a Washington D.C. based jazz vocalist. A multi-faceted musician, Ms. Purcell is an active featured soloist with symphony orchestras, big bands and small ensembles, band leader and vocal instructor. Ms. Purcell has shared the stage with many of the world's top jazz artists including Eric Alexander, Terell Stafford, and many others. Dr. Purcell is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice Instructor and Director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at George Mason University.
In addition to her active performing schedule, Dr. Purcell is a sought-after jazz vocal educator and clinician. Dr. Purcell was the Jazz Voice Instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and founder/director of the University of Illinois Jazz Vocal Ensemble. She is now the founder/director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble. Her groups have been invited to perform at the New York Voices Jazz Festival (Chicago), Western Michigan’s Gold Company Jazz Vocal Invitational (Kalamazoo, MI) the 2012 Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference (Louisville, KY) and the Kansas City Jazz Summit (Kansas City, MO). Dr. Purcell has served on the faculty of the W.O. Smith Music School camp (Nashville), Illinois Summer Youth Music, George Mason Summer Jazz Workshop, National Jazz Workshop and Music/Arts/Theatre Camp (Evanston, WY). She has been a guest artist/clinician at Illinois Wesleyan University, Texas Tech University, Virginia Tech, Southern Nazarene University and Indiana State School Music Association. Her students have won “Outstanding soloist" and “Outstanding Musicianship" awards at collegiate festivals as well as Downbeat Student Music Awards. Spring 2016, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble was awarded “Outstanding Ensemble" at the Kansas City Jazz Summit and recently performed at the JENerations Jazz Festival in New Orleans, LA.
Dr. Purcell received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Jazz Performance at Virginia Tech, a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Vera Crouse is an elementary music educator, choral director, performer, and advocate for barbershop harmony. She graduated from Longwood University with her bachelor’s in Music Education and taught at Ashland Elementary School in Prince William County for two years until moving to teach elementary music at Chalkley Elementary School in Richmond, VA. Vera has always loved singing and when she was introduced to the barbershop style in high school, she became devoted to this form of a cappella music. Singing and competing in quartets throughout college led to Vera joining the Greater Richmond Chorus, a competitive Sweet Adelines chorus in Richmond. She is now the frontline director of GRC, a Sweet Adelines Harmony 500 Director, Region 14 Young Women in Harmony Specialist, and has competed at the international level in quartets and with the chorus.
Sherlee Glomb received the Master of Music Education degree with emphasis in choral conducting from Florida State University, a Post Masters degree in Administration from George Washington University, and received a Bachelors of Music degree from James Madison University in Piano Performance. She has previously taught elementary through high school in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and Orange County in Winter Park, Florida. Currently in her twentieth year of teaching, she is grateful to have worked with master teachers including Dr. Andre Thomas, Dr. Judy Bowers, and Dr. Kevin Fenton.
Mrs. Glomb’s groups consistently receive superior ratings at festivals and competitions. Her groups have had the opportunity to perform at invitational performances including the White House, Lee-Fendall House, and the Washington Bach Consort under the direction of J. Reilly Lewis. In addition, Mrs. Glomb’s ensembles most recently performed at last year's Virginia Music Educator’s Association Conference in Hot Springs, Virginia and was featured on Channel 7 news show "Good Morning Washington." She has given conference presentations at the Florida Music Educators Association Conference in Tampa, Florida and the American Choral Directors Association in Philadelphia, PA.
Mrs. Glomb has held District XI Chairperson for Choral Directors in the Fairfax County Public Schools and has been recognized as an “Emerging Leader” of the Virginia Choral Directors Association. She has served as a clinician for middle and high school honor choirs, as well as a festival adjudicator, throughout the state of Florida, Virginia, and Maryland. Mrs. Glomb is also an accomplished pianist, choreographer, and musical theatre director. She is a member of NAfME, VMEA, ACDA, NATS and SAI.
She resides in Bristow, Virginia with her family and is thrilled to transition to a full-time private voice/piano studio to spend more time with her children. She also conducts the first Homeschool Choir of Northern Virginia.
Erik Jacobs is the Choir Director at J. Michael Lunsford Middle School in Loudoun County, Chantilly, VA. He holds a B.M. in Music Education and Applied Music-Trombone from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Prior to his current position, Erik began his choral music career at Woodbridge Middle School in Prince William County. His choirs have received consistent superior ratings at District Assessments, and J. Michael Lunsford MS is currently a Blue Ribbon School of Musical Excellence (3rd award). Prior to his teaching career, Erik was a professional instrumentalist, touring and playing with two of his own musical projects: the trombone funk/rock band “Po’Boys Brass Band” as well as the traditional jazz group “Roc City Stompers.” He has produced and released two albums, and his lectures on musical entrepreneurship and business, social networking, and composing/arranging have been heard at Ithaca College, Penn State, the Eastman School of Music, the Institute for Music Leadership, and various public schools in the northeast. Erik currently enjoys an active performing schedule in the DC and Baltimore areas, and is excited to begin performing with the Voce Chamber Singers this fall.
Communications Team
Dr. Matthew N. Russell is an Assistant Professor of Music & Music Education and Co-coordinator of Graduate Music Studies at Norfolk State University. At NSU, Dr. Russell interacts with both undergraduate and graduate students, supervises student teachers, and teaches courses in music education, conducting, music history, and music theory. His research interests include generative music learning, choral repertoire, and conducting pedagogy. Dr. Russell earned his DMA in conducting from The Ohio State University and the BS and MM (choral/vocal music education and conducting) from The Pennsylvania State University. A frequent adjudicator and guest conductor, Matthew also serves as Music Director-Educator for the Chamber Singers of the Virginia Children's Chorus, Minister of Music at the Historic Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA, and as editor of VA-ACDA's Virginia Harmony Newsletter.
Jane Waldrop has been a music and chorus teacher in Fairfax County for 15 years and is excited to be joining Virginia’s ACDA team! Jane graduated from JMU with a degree in vocal music education and received a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction where the focus of her thesis was “Curriculum Integration in Elementary General Music.” Jane has directed many different choirs over the years including elementary chorus, community choir, and church choirs. Formerly, Jane was the a cappella director of the Flint Hill Major Minors. While there, the Major Minors were featured on the album “Best of High School A Cappella” singing Jane’s arrangement of “Halo” by Beyoncé. Additionally, she has produced and directed many musicals and revues including, “A Sentimental Journey: Songs of the 40’s and 50’s” for the Voce Chamber Singers in the summer of 2014 and “Seussical Jr” at Clearview Elementary School. This past summer, she worked as music director for “The Little Mermaid” with the Herndon High School Summer Grand program. Jane currently sings alto with the Virginia Master Singers and lives in Herndon with her family.
dcarroll@vaacda.org - 276-739-3733
David Carroll teaches young singers from grades 6 to 12 at Glade Spring Middle School and Patrick Henry High School in Glade Spring, VA. He is music director of the Chapel Choir at Emory United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory & Henry College.
A late-blooming choir director, Dave spent twelve years working in information technology while maintaining an active amateur choral life. He was a member from 2003 to 2009 of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus under the direction of Norman Mackenzie. During his time with them the ASOC made multiple appearances with the ASO at Carnegie Hall, were guests of the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin, and headlined at the 2007 National ACDA conference in Miami.
Dave completed his music teaching certification in 2012 at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI before moving to southwest Virginia. His first degree is a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Kenyon College, where he had an idyllic liberal arts choir experience under the direction of Dr. Benjamin Locke.
In addition to active leadership service in NAfME and ACDA, Dave serves on the Board of Directors for the Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy (MECCA). He lives in Abingdon, VA with his wife, Dr. Teena Carroll and their two children, Lucy and Will.