I’ve never felt more connected to my community or to myself than when I’ve sung in a choir. It requires an all-encompassing presentness that can be avoided in many other parts of my day. Singing in a choir is grounding, vulnerable, and incredibly rewarding – and directing a choir achieves the same feeling for me. I discovered my love for choral singing and conducting during my time at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where I studied under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Lerew. I hadn’t ever sung in a choir, but in my Elementary Conducting class I uncovered an interest that would only grow with time. I took private lessons with Dr. Lerew, sang in the university choir, and ultimately became the associate conductor of the university’s treble group, Concert Choir, and the assistant conductor of the select university choir, TNU Singers.
I started out at Trevecca as a music education major (I grew up singing, playing piano, and performing in musicals), but switched to vocal performance in my 4th semester. I wasn’t certain about the level of desire I had for traditional school teaching. I knew I still loved teaching and I became even more active as a conductor after I switched majors. Plus, studying voice helped me to start incorporating more vocal technique and expression into my rehearsals. Through all of the singing & directing I did at Trevecca, I recognized how much I valued collaborative music making. I realized that I’d rather use my performance degree to teach and conduct than to head down a career path towards primarily solo and operatic singing.
I graduated with a B.M. Vocal Performance in 2020, and decided I needed a couple years to establish my footing after COVID (a quarantine M.M. program sounded like a nightmare!). After graduation I found work as a private voice and piano teacher at a local studio and taught about 25 students a week, mostly kids and beginners. I was also hired part-time as a vocalist at a church, and then was hired as their choral director after a few months. I was a conducting intern with Vox Grata Women’s Choir, a community treble choir directed by Jeanette MacCallum and Dr. Susan Kelly, and I just started another season of conducting (and singing) with them this fall. I’ve sung with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, Concert Chorale of Nashville, Vocal Arts Nashville, and several church choirs, and I’ve performed as a soprano soloist in a variety of settings. I’m so thankful for my choral and vocal experience over the last few years, because during this time I’ve learned that although I love to sing and teach, I find the most fulfillment when I’m with a choir.
Now that I’ve chosen to devote my time pursuing a career in choral music, I’m ready to take the next step and earn an MM in Choral Conducting, and ultimately a DMA. I want to work with college choirs, community choirs, church choirs, or all of the above. I’d like to continue studying and teaching voice, both because I enjoy it and because it makes me a better conductor.
Most of all, I want to be the kind of leader that enables people to truly connect with themselves, each other, and their community through music. I want to teach sight-reading, theory, and healthy vocal techniques so that singers are well-equipped to be successful musicians, but more importantly I want to create an environment where people feel safe to be themselves, where they’re asked to be fully present, where they’re challenged to be their best, where they’re invited to be vulnerable, and where they advocate each other. In a world that often feels so divided and hateful, it’s a privilege to make art. I believe it is an artist’s responsibility to create music that both honors our differences and challenges us to recognize our oneness with each other.
I am honored to have worked with conductors who achieve this, and I’m truly looking forward to continuing learning from people who can teach me to better understand music, better understand people, and better translate my passion for choir into art that is meaningful, collaborative, and enduring.
Ashley Vance 