Faculty

Academic History

• D.M.A. Choral Conducting, University of Southern California (in progress)
• M.M. Choral Conducting, University of Georgia
• B.M.E. Choral Music Education, Reinhardt University

Personal Interests

• Vocology
• Choral and instrumental conducting
• Musicology

Awards and Honors

• ACDA: Georgia American Choral Directors’ Association Young Director Award, 2019
• University of Georgia Graduate School: Director’s Excellence Award for Graduate Teaching, 2015

Biography

Laura Leigh Spillane is a Doctor of Musical Arts student in Choral Music at the University of Southern California. As a teaching assistant for the USC Thornton School of Music, she is the Associate Conductor of USC’s premier choral ensemble, the Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe. Previously, she served as the Lead Conductor of the USC University Chorus.

Prior to her studies at USC, Georgia native Laura Leigh Spillane taught choral music at the middle and high school levels in Fulton and Gwinnett County Schools. She also served as a professional director of sacred music for over a decade. An avid choral singer, she enjoyed five seasons singing with the Atlanta Master Chorale.

Spillane holds the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Georgia, where she was a recipient of the Carl Hoveland Fellowship and worked as a graduate assistant, and the Bachelor's degree in Music Education with an emphasis in voice from Reinhardt University where she graduated summa cum laude. Her conducting teachers include Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, Larry Livingston, Daniel Bara, J.D. Burnett, and Martha Shaw. Spillane is an active member of professional organizations ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO.

Courses Taught

• MUS173: Claremont Concert Choir