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Deirdre Francis is active as a voice teacher, performer, and choral conductor. She is an Associate Professor of Music at Anderson University where she teaches voice, including music theater majors, vocal pedagogy, and vocal diction and conducts the Contemporary Vocal Lab. Ms. Francis’ voice students from both her collegiate and private studios have earned honors at the state and regional level at the National Association of Teachers of Singing annual auditions in classical and music theater categories. This fall, she is the vocal coach and musical director for the AU production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Ms. Francis holds the Daniel Endowed Chair of Music through which she is using technology and voice science in applied voice to improve student learning. Ms. Francis received the Associate of Fine Arts degree in Music from Anderson College, the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University, and the Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. While at Westminster, she was a member of the world-renowned Westminster Choir. She is certified in Somatic Voicework® with Jeanette LoVetri through the Shenandoah University Contemporary Commercial Singing Vocal Pedagogy Institute. As a soprano, she is equally at home on the operatic/oratorio, recital, and musical theater stage. This year she presents a faculty recital at AU, will be a soloist with the Electric City Big Band and The Anderson Symphony Orchestra’s Pops concert, and soprano soloist in the AU Choral Masterworks concert March. After several years of studying Body Mapping and seeing results in her own performing and in her students performing, she is training to be a certified Andover Educator. The mission of Andover Educators is to put music training on a secure somatic foundation so that all musicians, amateur and professional alike, may play and sing free of pain and injury and with increasing enjoyment and skill. In addition to her full-time teaching duties at AU, Ms. Francis conducts the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium (GAMAC) Girl Choir, an auditioned community choir for girls in grades 3-8. The GAMAC Girl Choir was invited to perform at the Youth Music Festival at the 2009 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Ms. Francis is very active as a choral clinician, honor choir conductor and choral adjudicator. She is serving as President of the SC Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In her spare time, Ms. Francis enjoys gardening, reading, exercising and watching movies. |
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Deirdre Francis |
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Web pages updated: May 2010 |
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Fiddler on the Roof 09 |