Middle school Treble
Tammy carney
Tammy Carney holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Music Education at the University of Southern Mississippi. Ms. Carney is the Director of Choral Activities at Long Beach High School in Long Beach Mississippi where she conducts the award winning Concert Choir and So Fa So Good, the Pop A Cappella ensemble.
Over the past 30 years, her choirs and ensembles have earned numerous awards and have performed at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Grand Ole Opry.
In 2018, Ms. Carney was named Teacher of the Year at Petal Middle School. She was previously honored as Clinton Junior High Teacher of the Year in 2012 and received the Mississippi ACDA Ernestine Ferrell Award for Choral Excellence in 2016. That same year, she was also recognized as the Mississippi Music Educator of the Year. Ms. Carney has served as Mississippi ACDA President, and currently serves as President Elect of the Mississippi Music Educators Association. In 2024, Ms. Carney conducted the ACDA Southwestern Division 7-9 Grade Treble Choir in Denver, Colorado. An active church musician and sought-after clinician, she regularly conducts honor choirs across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Ms. Carney most importantly is a proud mother of three sons- Durham, Denton, Tanner and a sweet dachshund, Maisel.
Middle school Mixed
dr. stephen gusukuma
Dr. Stephen Gusukuma is the Bingham L. Vick, Jr., and Judith S. Vick Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities following seven years on faculty at Baylor University where he conducted numerous choral ensembles and taught almost the entire gamut of vocal ensembles, choral conducting, methods, and literature at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Under his guidance, the Furman Singers performed at the 2023 South Carolina American Choral Directors Association Fall Conference, 2025 South Carolina MEA Conference, and will perform at the 2026 ACDA Southern Region Conference in Memphis, TN. The Furman Singers have toured across the nation and internationally, most recently to Austria and the Czech Republic in 2025. Dr. Gusukuma holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and the Bachelor of Music Education and the Master of Music degrees from Baylor University.
Middle School Tenor/Bass
dr. Amon eady
Amon Eady presently serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Central Michigan University, where he conducts four ensembles and teaches undergraduate and graduate choral conducting and choral literature. Before arriving at CMU, Dr. Eady taught at both the middle school and high school levels over the course of nine years in the White Station community of Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Eady’s choirs have performed at state and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association, including performances by the Central Michigan University Chamber Singers at the 2020 Michigan state ACDA Conference, and the White Station High School Men’s Choir at the 2014 Southern Division ACDA Convention in Jacksonville, FL.
Recognized by the Tennessee Music Educators Association as Music Educator of the Year in the Spring of 2014, Dr. Eady presently serves as President-Elect of the Michigan state chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association. He has presented at state, regional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education on developing the male chorus, the building of a comprehensive choral program, and new and diverse methods of teacher training.
Dr. Eady’s research interests also include the comprehensive development of the teacher/conductor, the history of the terminal conducting degree, building resilience in pre-service and novice music educators, and the rehabilitative impact of choral singing on incarcerated individuals. Dr. Eady holds the Bachelor of Music Education degree and Master of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Florida State University.
9th & 10th grade Mixed
Dr. marques l.a. garrett
A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett (he/him) is Associate Professor of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas. He earned his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University.
An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He has served as a guest conductor or clinician with several school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNT, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences.
A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the countertenor soloist in the European premiere of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo in Limerick, Ireland. Currently, he sings with the Festival Singers of Florida and Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.
Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His compositions are available through several publishers. For more information, visit www.mlagmusic.com.
Senior Treble
Dr. Dominique petite
Dominique Petite is the Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches courses in music education and choral pedagogy, conducts the Treble Choir, and supervises student teachers. Prior to her appointment at KSU, she was an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Choral Music Education at Ohio University, where she conducted choirs, supervised student teachers, and taught courses in music education, conducting, and pedagogy. While at OU, her treble choir, Bella Voce, was invited to perform at the Ohio Choral Directors Association conference.
Petite has a DMA in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University. She earned a BME and MME in Choral Music Education from Florida State University. Her research interests include rehearsal pedagogy, fostering musicianship in ensemble settings, mentorship across the teaching continuum, and utilizing energetics in choral rehearsals. Dr. Petite has presented her research at national and international conferences and has publications in ChorTeach and The Choral Scholar & American Choral Review. One of her proudest accomplishments, however, is being a Six-Year Georgia All-State Chorus participant.
Senior Tenor/Bass
dr. Shannon jeffreys
Dr. Shannon Jeffreys is Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and Assistant Dean for Student Experience in the College of Arts and Humanities at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. She directs the Southern Chorale and teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate conducting and music education curricula.
Dr. Jeffreys has led her choirs in seven international and two national choral competitions, earning numerous prestigious awards. Most recently, Southern Chorale placed third in the CantaRode International Choral Competition in Kerkrade, Netherlands. In 2019, she received the Conductor’s Award from the Ave Verum International Choral Competition in Baden, Austria. Choirs under her direction have also been featured at multiple state and national conferences, including a recent performance at the National Collegiate Choral Organization Conference.
In addition to her work at Georgia Southern, Dr. Jeffreys maintains an active schedule as a presenter, adjudicator, lecturer, and guest conductor for secondary schools, universities, and churches across the United States. She also serves internationally as a choral adjudicator with Meeting Music.
Prior to her appointment at Georgia Southern, Dr. Jeffreys served as Director of Vocal Studies at Erskine College and Theological Seminary. She holds degrees in music performance and conducting from Birmingham-Southern College, the University of Mississippi, and the University of South Carolina.
11th & 12th grade Mixed Chorus
Dr. mark butler
Mark Butler, educator, composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, baritone. Butler received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. He holds a M.M.E degree from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL and a Doctorate degree (DMA), in Choral Conducting from The American Conservatory of Music, Hammond, IND.
Dr. Butler is an Associate Professor of Music and presently serves as Director of Choral Studies and Activities at Florida A&M University.
Recently, Butler conducted the University Concert Choir in concert performances in various venues of Vienna, Austria. And too has recently conducted the University Concert Choir concerts at Florida ACDA and FMEA Conferences. Butler also serves a choral consultant, and as an adjudicator at district and national festivals, and NATS vocal competitions. He served as conductor for varies International Choral Music Festivals & Concerts in San Pedro Sula, Hondurus and The Bahamas.
Butler’s conducting repertoire consists of a few major works by renowned composers such as Handel, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Joel Thompson, and has done several collaborative projects with The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.
As a composer, he has over 20 published compositions and has commissioned works for music conferences, festivals and various vocal competitions.
He is a member of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), American Choral Director’s Association, Music Educator’s National Conference, NATS, American Composer’s Forum and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. INC. Butler continues to serve as guest conductor /choral consultant and composer in residence for Region and National Choral Events, Church Workshops, and other Musical involvements throughout the United States.