Program History & Initiatives

History of the Program

Brief Program History

The Faculty/Staff choir was established in 1990 as part of the University of Arizona's choral conducting program.

The frequent rotation of student conductors each semester proved challenging for the all-volunteer choir.  Attendance dropped.

In Spring 1997, Tom Tropp assumed the role of conductor for a full semester, with, Terrie Ashbaugh as accompanist

In Fall 1997, Terrie Ashbaugh and Lisa Billingham co-conducted.

In Spring 1998 Terrie Ashbaugh continued as sole conductor for the group.

In Fall 1998, the Choral Conducting program stopped hosting the Faculty/Staff choir as a part of its educational program.

The singers elected to keep singing.  They developed a leadership board. Terrie Ashbaugh directed for the next eight years.

Upon Terrie's retirement from the choir, the Faculty/Staff Choir once again turned to students of the Choral Conducting program to direct.   

Choir directors and accompanists usually stay with us for 1-2 years during their graduate program.

We are self-funded, relying on membership dues, gig payments, and donations to pay for our director, accompanist, choir shirts, and venue fees.

We sing the national anthem for University of Arizona sporting events, including women's basketball, baseball, and volleyball.

We sing regularly for Festivus in the University of Arizona Bookstore. 

We also sing for off-campus events, including a city-wide memorial just after September 11, 2001, at Carnegie Hall in New York in June, 2006, for the Tucson Botanical Gardens' Winterfest, for the grand opening of Tucson's Modern Streetcar, and more!  

Membership has ranged from a low of 12 members during COVID's online singing adventures to our largest group, which boasted 80 singers!

During COVID we sang entirely virtually for two semesters, developing new skills in rehearsing, recording, editing, and mixing sound.

We returned to meeting in person in January 2022.

Many of our members over the years have changed positions, retired, been promoted to Dean or other administrative roles.  

And we sing on.