2021-2022 Honor Choir Festival
October 27, 2021
Please note: This article was originally posted during a previous school year. Information and/or dates from past events
may be not be relevant for the current school year.
On Friday, October 29, the community is invited to attend the Honor Choir Festival at Montgomery Central High School. Over 80 students from CMCSS high school choir programs will participate in this public concert, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The clinician for this year’s festival is Dr. Tim Sharp and the accompanist is Jan Corrothers. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and children 6 and under are free.
Clinician/Accompanist
Tim Sharp (BM, MCM, DMA) has varied his career as conductor, university professor, publisher, and arts administrator and innovator. Currently in his thirteenth year as Artistic and Executive Director of the Tulsa Chorale, Tulsa (OK), Tim enjoys programming relevant concerts that have become a staple of the artistic classical music landscape throughout the region. He is the Director of Innovation for Trevecca University’s (Nashville, TN) Center for Community Arts Innovation, and Director of Music at Immanuel Baptist Church (Nashville, TN).
Tim’s research and writing focuses pedagogically in conducting and score analysis, and his many published essays and books betray his eclectic interests in regional music history, acoustics, creativity, innovation, and aesthetics. He has conducted university, community, church, and children’s choirs, and performs as choral conductor and clinician in the United States and internationally.
Dr. Sharp is a Life Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, with degrees in music and conducting from The School of Church Music of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Belmont University, and Bluefield College.
Tim has just concluded thirteen years as Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, the national professional association for choral conductors, educators, scholars, students, and choral music industry representatives in the United States. He represents choral activity in the USA to the International Federation for Choral Music. Prior to his leadership of ACDA, Sharp was Dean of Fine Arts at Rhodes College, and earlier, Director of Choral Activities at Belmont University.
Sacred Choral Music Repertoire: Insights for Conductors is Tim’s latest book for choral conductors. Other publications in choral conducting are Relevance in the Choral Art, Innovation in the Ensemble Arts: Sustaining Creativity, Mentoring in the Ensemble Arts: Helping Others Find Their Voice and Collaboration in the Ensemble Arts: Working and Playing Well with Others. In addition to these publications, Tim has many published choral compositions and arrangements.
Tim lives on a working farm in Hickory Point (Clarksville), Tennessee, along with his wife Jane and daughter Emma.
Jan Corrothers is a collaborative pianist and organist based in the Greater Nashville area where she serves as Staff Accompanist for the Music Department of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Jan performs as accompanist for choral conventions, workshops, festivals, recitals, and reading sessions across the United States and abroad. Previously, Jan served as Staff Accompanist and Adjunct Faculty member at Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University, Alderson Broaddus University, Marietta College, Ohio University, and as Principal Accompanist of the Cincinnati Youth Choir, in residence at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.
While in Northern KY, Jan collaborated regularly with the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson, as well as the Festival Singers of Florida, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Fenton. Most recently, she was the guest pianist for the 2020 ACDA Eastern Division Elementary Honor Choir in Rochester, NY, under the direction of Henry Leck.
Jan has been an invited guest lecturer in Beijing, China, presenting research on the art of Choral Collaboration: Understanding the Function of the Conductor/Accompanist/Choir Triangle. She shared her research as a guest presenter for Chorus America’s Conducting Retreat at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music in 2013.
Freelance performing opportunities include serving as Guest Collaborative Artist at Anderson University with Jessica Rivera Shafer, Soprano (2015), choral festival pianist with the Cincinnati Youth Choir in Carnegie Hall, All State Chorus accompanist in WV, KY, TN, and FL, as well as ACDA Regional and National honor choir accompanist.
From 2015-2017, Jan served as Board President and Conference Coordinator of the Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians’ national organization (FABM). She is also featured as a recording artist with Dr. Raquel Rodriquez, cornet, on the album: Cincinnati Virtuosity, The Cornet Solos of Frank Simon and Herman Bellstedt.
Jan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organ Performance and Church Music from Alderson Broaddus University, where she received the 2008 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from Shenandoah University, where she was awarded a graduate assistantship as pianist for the opera program.