Cheryl H. Parsons, Artistic Director

Cheryl Parsons, founder and director of Cantate Carlisle, also directs the choral music program at Carlisle High School. She began her music studies at Northwestern University, where she sang under the baton of Margaret Hillis for four years and earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree. She also holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied choral conducting with Earl Rivers, Elmer Thomas, and John Leman and orchestral conducting with Teri Murai. Through additional study at Westminster Choir College and the Oregon Bach Festival, Ms. Parsons has sung with and taken master classes with Robert Shaw, Sir David Willcocks, Helmuth Rilling, Howard Swan, and Jon Bailey.

Ms. Parsons has a passion for traveling and has attended four World Symposiums on Choral Music sponsored by the International Federation of Choral Music, where she heard many of the world's finest choral ensembles. She has brought a wide range of music from other cultures to central Pennsylvania audiences as a result.

Professional music organizations provide Ms. Parsons with a broad network of musical colleagues. She is an active participant in the American Choral Directors Association and the state and local branches of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC).

Although choral music for the concert stage is Ms. Parsons' primary focus, the theatre and music as entertainment are a definite side line of hers. In addition to three traditional ensembles, she directs The Singers Unlimited Show Choir at Carlisle High School and has co-directed 31 Broadway musicals on the Carlisle High School stage. The Carlisle High School Concert Choir is regularly recognized for excellence at annual North American Music Festivals.

Ms. Parsons' teaching expertise has been recognized by MENC with the title of Registered Music Educator, and she has been listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. In June 1998 the Carlisle Area School District honored Ms. Parsons and three other teachers with the first-ever Carlisle Area School District Excellence in Education Award.