CLARKSVILLE, TN –The Clarksville Children’s Chorus, part of the Community School of the Arts at Austin Peay State University (APSU) was recently selected to perform at Tennessee’s annual music educators conference at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville on April 11. In its second season, this group of 4th, 5th and 6th graders was selected alongside a high school honor choir.
The 65th annual Tennessee Music Educators Association (TMEA) Professional Development Conference is held at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. It brings together elementary general music teachers, secondary band, choir, orchestra directors, and higher education faculty from Tennessee and other states.
The Clarksville Children’s Chorus, consisting of 36 singers from 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, was invited through a blind review process by the TMEA selection committee. Choir director Dr. Michael Chandler submitted recorded selections from the choir’s fall 2022 and spring 2023 concerts at APSU. Out of all Tennessee submissions, only the Clarksville Children’s Chorus and the Ravenwood High School Honors Chamber Chorus from Williamson County were selected to perform at the 2024 conference.
Under the leadership of Morgan Sharp (Part I Section Leader) and Lauren López Ochoa (Part II Section Leader), the choir’s performance included APSU Department of Music’s pianist Jan Corrothers and music professor Dr. Meghan Berindean on cello.
The April 11, 2024, trip to Nashville was funded by the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at Austin Peay (CECA), which provided bus transportation to the Gaylord Opryland Resort for the conference. The APSU Department of Music covered the cost of printed concert programs.