Introducing Our New Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities
Laura Leigh Spillane is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Choral Music at the University of Southern California, where her fields of study are Choral Music, Musicology, Instrumental Conducting, and Vocology. She serves on the faculty at Saddleback and Scripps Colleges in Southern California, directing the Saddleback Chamber Singers, Claremont Concert Choir, and Claremont Treble Choir. As Senior Teaching Assistant for the USC Thornton School of Music, she is the Associate Conductor of USC’s premier choral ensemble, the Chamber Singers. Previously, she served the Thornton School of Music as the Lead Conductor of the USC University Chorus and the soprano section leader of the USC Chamber Singers.
Prior to her studies at USC, Ms. Spillane was the Choral Director and Music Theory instructor at Riverwood International Charter School and the Director of Music Ministries at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mastery-level women’s choir, Riverwood Singers, was selected to perform at Georgia State University’s SingFest in 2019.
Prior to her appointment at Riverwood, Ms. Spillane was the choral director at Osborne Middle School, where she directed seven choral ensembles. Her auditioned ensemble, Osborne Chorale, performed at the GMEA in-service conference in 2018. Through her recruitment initiatives, she grew the choral ensembles by 47% in just three years. Under her direction, ensembles consistently scored superior ratings at Large Group Performance Evaluation. She was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Georgia American Choral Directors’ Association Young Director Award in 2019. Additionally, she worked as the conductor of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Summer Music Camp for three consecutive years (2016, 2017, and 2018) and was the clinician for the Sixth Grade Honor Chorus in Cherokee County, Georgia in 2018.
Ms. Spillane holds the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Georgia and the Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Reinhardt University, where she was a summa cum laude graduate. At UGA, she was a Carl Hoveland Fellow and graduate assistant. She was selected for the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award in 2015.
Ms. Spillane has performed with choirs at state, regional, and national levels of ACDA, the annual conference of the Georgia Music Educators’ Association, and several international choir tours. Prior to her studies at USC, she enjoyed six seasons singing Soprano 1 with the Atlanta Master Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Eric Nelson.
Her conducting teachers include Drs. Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, Larry Livingston, Daniel Bara, J.D. Burnett, and Martha Shaw. She has worked in conducting institutes and masterclasses with Drs. Joseph Flummerfelt, William Weinert, Craig Hella Johnson, Andrew Megill, Amanda Quist, Jefferson Johnson, Deanna Joseph, and Donald Nally. She is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO.
Professor Spillane is very excited to begin her appointment at the University of Tennessee, saying “UT has such a vibrant community of musicians and scholars; it is an honor to join in its rich tradition of choral artistry and excellence in music education. I am thrilled to call myself a Volunteer!”
Ms. Spillane is soon anticipated to become Dr. Spillane and will join the faculty as Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities on August 01, 2023, where she will teach courses in choral music education and conduct the UT Concert Choir. Ms. Spillane will be eagerly available to visit local high school choral programs this fall!