Shelton Singers

History

Founded in 1979 with Syble Coats as director, the Shelton Singers have appeared six times at Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the National Two-Year College Honor Choir. In addition they have performed with the Tuscaloosa Symphony and appeared in concerts in Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Atlanta and Orlando. The group received first or second place in the Alabama Two-Year College Music Showcase each year the awards were given.

In addition to choral music, both sacred and secular, the Shelton Singers have presented the musicals Bye Bye Birdy, Little Mary Sunshine, Brigadoon, L’il Abner, The Boyfriend, Oklahoma!, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance and in cooperation with the Shelton State Theatre Department, The Fantasticks, Cinderella and Damn Yankees. At least nine of the more than 750 singers who have been with the group since it was founded have participated in the “Miss Alabama” pageant.

Glinda Blackshear was a Vocal/Choral Instructor at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa from Fall 1985-June 2016. In 2000 she was selected Outstanding College Faculty Person for the state Two-Year College system and in 2008 she received the Todd Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was past president of the Alabama Choral Directors Association (AL-ACDA) and also served as the Southern Division Chair for Two-Year Colleges in ACDA. She was the recipient of two Druid Arts Awards from the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa. She performed locally with the Tuscaloosa Community Singers, the ensemble Chanson, and Theatre Tuscaloosa. She was also the Choir Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church since 1994. Her husband, Dr. Alan Blackshear, was a composer on the Shelton State faculty, who wrote dozens of arrangements and compositions for school and church ensembles. 

Glinda Blackshear conducted the award-winning concert choir, the Shelton Singers, which has performed from New York to Hawaii, including 6 performances in Carnegie Hall. The Bach to Rock Ensemble, which Mrs. Blackshear originated and directed, performed before hundreds of school children each year under the umbrella of the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa. In 2007 Bach to Rock was given a national award for Innovations in Education. Her voice students competed in the annual National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) State Auditions, and she had winners every year, even though her college was the only two-year institution participating along with the state’s four-year colleges.

Shelton Singers Accomplishments (1979-2016)

• 6 Concerts in Carnegie Hall: First time to sing in Carnegie Hall was in 1990 and 45 people made the trip. Other performances include May 30 2000; Apr 3-7 2004; May 31 2005.

• 1990 – National Honor Choir

• 2000 – Alabama Two-Year College Honor Choir

• 2004 – National Two-Year College Honor Choir

• Concerts with Festival Choirs in Manhattan; Salt Lake City; Honolulu with Honolulu Symphony; Atlanta; Orlando. Shelton Singers received the highest score of all choirs participating in the Atlanta Choral Festival in March 2006.

• Concerts with the Tuscaloosa Symphony in 2001 of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and in 2002 of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms

• Troy Music Festival: 2003, Carmina Burana by Orff; 2005, Requiem by Faure

• Concerts with Chamber Orchestra: Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saens; Gloria by Vivaldi (twice); Requiem by Faure (twice)

• Winner (first or second place) of Two-Year College Music Showcase in each year when awards were given

• Major Musicals presented by the Music Department: Bye Bye, Birdie (twice); Little Mary Sunshine; Brigadoon; L’il Abner; The Boyfriend; Oklahoma; The Mikado; Pirates of Penzance

• Major Musicals presented in conjunction with the Theatre Department: The Fantasticks; Cinderella; Damn Yankees

• Dinner Theatre: Carmen; Down in the Valley; Madrigal Dinners and numerous Musical Revues

• Performance on Disney Cruise Line

• Performances for MLK Celebrations. Performed for Realizing the Dream event at UA on January 19 2008.

• Concerts on themes: American Music; International Music; Spirituals for Black History Month; Poetry in Music (in conjunction with the English and Speech faculty)

• Broadway Memories and Melodies Feb 29 and Mar 1 2008

• God’s Trombones as a part of the Realizing the Dream series (Spring 2009)

• Shelton Singers Showcase – April 30 2009

• Annual Sacred Concerts at area churches

• Performances for civic clubs: Rotary; Civitan; Kiwanis

• Over 750 students participated in Shelton Singers in the past 25 years (through 2004); more than 1,000 by 2016 (?)