New choral director gives music

To kick-off the new school year, GC&SU has welcomed Dr. Jennifer Flory, the new director of choral activities in the Music Department. She is just one of the many new faces joining the faculty at the College of Arts & Sciences this fall.

Flory said that the top reasons she chose GC&SU over other schools were family and the university’s liberal arts mission.

“The proximity to my family in Macon, North Carolina and Kentucky was definitely one thing that attracted me,” Flory said. “The really big thing that attracted me is that the focus at GC&SU is the liberal arts. I went to a liberal arts school and loved it. I think it is very important. That’s the kind of school at which I wanted to teach. I didn’t want to be at a big research university or a conservatory.”

With a bit of warm reverence in her voice, Flory explained her attraction to GC&SU’s small class atmosphere.

“I have a music education class with six students in it, which makes it more like a seminar, which is great because I think they can get more out of it rather than being in a class of 30 where I’m just standing up front lecturing,” said Flory. “[GC&SU] was my first choice, and I lucked out. Everyone at the university is so welcoming and gracious and the students are just great.”

Students have already begun to praise the work Flory has done. Robyn Eckenroth, a sophomore Music Therapy major, is a student in Flory’s university chorus class. “[Flory] is making a great adjustment. A lot of music students really like her, as do the faculty… its almost like she’s already part of the family,” Eckenroth said. “She’s keeping things more structured, which proves to be very beneficial to the outcome of a great choir.”

Ana Col?n-Olivieri, another university choral student, testified to Flory’s classroom savvy.

“She didn’t seem to be intimidated of taking such a large group of students under her instruction,” Col?n-Olivieri said. “You could tell she would fit in at GC&SU just fine.”

Naturally talented, Flory began her position in the GC&SU faculty after earning a bachelor’s degree in arts and another degree in music education from Otterbein College, a private liberal arts college in Westerville, Ohio. This immersion in liberal arts would later fuel her appreciation for GC&SU’s mission.

Flory would later earned a master’s degree in music and a doctorate in musical arts in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In addition to her extensive resume, she spent six years as a music education teacher for both high school and middle school.

As an accomplished mezzo-soprano soloist, Flory is a member of various societies and associations, such as the American Choral Directors Association, Georgia Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference, Georgia Music Educators Association, Chorus America and The College Music Society. However, Flory’s credentials only lend an inkling to the magnitude of her vocal abilities.

Flory is currently preparing for two concerts with the University Chorus and the Max Noah Singers, which will include selections from various operas, arias and pieces by Copeland, Verdi, Purcell and more.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 9 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry