The Chattanooga Girls Choir

The Chattanooga Girls Choir was founded in 1987 by John Dyer in order to offer talented young ladies in the Chattanooga area the opportunity to develop musicianship, vocal technique, and performance skills. During its first 10 years of existence, the choir was affiliated with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and all rehearsals and concerts were held on the UTC campus. During that time, the Chattanooga Girls Choir grew from a small group of dedicated singers to an organization with a large touring choir and two younger training choirs.

In 1997, the Chattanooga Girls Choir officially became a non-profit organization and began to receive a portion of its funding from Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga. By the end of 1997, the choir dissolved its affiliation with UTC and moved its rehearsal location to the First Baptist Church in downtown Chattanooga. In addition, the choir's beloved director John Dyer had announced his intent to retire, so after an exhaustive national search, a new director was chosen for the choir. With Ed Huey's leadership, the choir remained strong through the transition year of 1997 and experienced renewed energy and focus.

After the Summer 2000 tour, Mr. Huey delivered the sad news that he would be stepping down as the director of the Girls Choir. Given the task of once again selecting a new director, the choir had the good fortune to find John Wigal, a talented music educator who had recently moved to Chattanooga from the Chicago area. His energy, optimism, and fresh ideas helped lead the choir into the next century.

By 2004, Mr. Wigal found his talents in demand in many areas in the community and felt the need to reduce his responsibilities with the choir. Mr. Wigal resigned as Artistic Director, but he remained on the Chattanooga Girls Choir staff as the first director of the new 3rd grade choir. To fill Mr. Wigal's former position, the choir board searched among many highly qualified candidates and found a person who seems a perfect fit with the goals and needs of the choir. The Chattanooga Girls Choir happily welcomed its first female Artistic Director as LuAnn Holden from Lee University took over the helm beginning in Fall 2004.

The Novellina Choir is the newest addition to the Chattanooga Girls Choir family. This choir was started in January 2005 to give third-grade girls a chance to try the Girls Choir without the need for an audition and to prepare them for trying out for the Cantilena Singers the following fall. They rehearse in the spring semester only (January through May) on Mondays from 4:45-5:30, and they perform in the spring concert with the other choirs. Their director is John Wigal. Novellina means "a beginner girl."	John Wigal and the first ever Novellina Choir in 2005.
The Cantilena Singers are beginning their first full year with the Girls Choir and are usually 9-11 years old. These girls generally have a lot of enthusiasm for choir singing and a willingness to learn to be better singers. They rehearse on Mondays from 4:45-6:00, and they perform in the winter and spring concerts. Their director is Delores Beery-Norwood. Cantilena means "a smooth, flowing melody."	Delores Beery-Norwood helps some of the new 2004 Cantilena Singers get acquainted.
The new Bella Voce choir is composed of 5th graders who were in the Cantilena Singers the previous year as well as all 6th graders. They work hard to learn multi-part singing and sight reading so that they will be prepared to join the Concert Choir. They rehearse on Mondays from 5:15-6:30, and they may perform in public several times during the year. Their director is Joan Tonkinson. Bella Voce means "beautiful voice."	The 2004 Bella Voce Choir (5th/6th graders) with Joan Tonkinson
The Concert Choir is now made up of girls in grades 7-12. The primary performing choir of the CGC, the Concert Choir is formed from the merging of two smaller choirs (see below). The combined rehearsal is on Mondays 5:30-6:30 as well as from 10:00-12:00 on the first Saturday of each month. The director for all these groups is the new artistic director of the choir, LuAnn Holden. The Jubilate Choir members are in grades 7 and 8. They rehearse for a half-hour and then are joined by the Grace Moore Singers to rehearse as the Concert Choir. Rehearsal times: Mondays 5:00-6:30 and 10:00-12:00 on the first Saturday of each month. The Grace Moore Singers are in grades 9-12. Their rehearsal continues after the main Concert Choir rehearsal. Rehearsal times: Mondays 5:30-7:00 and 10:00-12:00 on the first Saturday of each month. Why "Grace Moore", you ask? This Grace Moore web site can tell you all about this wonderful singer!	The 2004 Concert Choir rehearses with LuAnn Holden. The Grace Moore Singers in 2000
The Concert Choir performs in public many times during the year, both as individual choirs and together. In addition, the members of the Concert Choir are eligible to join the touring choir in summer.	The 1999 Tour Choir behind Notre Dame in Paris

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Updated: 5/29/07

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