Glenn Draper
Ben Haden, Billy Graham, Glenn Draper, and Singers
Glenn Draper is one of the finest Choral Directors in the world.
I have known Glenn for years and appreciate his God-given talent.
—Billy Graham
Glenn and Lounelle Draper with Sir Allen and Lady Walker
The most outstanding choir to come to Australia in my memory. (After
performance at the Sydney Opera House)
—Sir Allen Walker, Australia
Concert Will Honor Career
of Glenn Draper
A celebratory concert in honor of Glenn W. Draper’s career as Professor
of Music and Director of Choral Activities at UTC will be held Sunday,
November 17 at 3 p.m. in First Centenary United Methodist Church, 419
McCallie Avenue, to mark Draper’s retirement.
The concert will include performances by the current Chattanooga Singers,
alumni singers and faculty.
An announcement will be made during the concert about an endowment to
fund the Glenn Draper scholarship, to be awarded to a vocal student at
the University. For more information about the endowment honoring Draper’s
service and achievement, please contact the UTC Office of Development
at 425-4232.
When Glenn Draper received the Chattanooga Optimist Club’s Distinguished
Service Award, he was honored for taking "the best aspects of Chattanooga
and its youth to our country and our world and has brought recognition,
prestige, and accolades to our city, UTC students, and various religious
groups and organizations."
Coming to Chattanooga in 1968, Draper spent more than 30 years as Director
of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at The University of Tennessee
at Chattanooga and Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga.
Born in Roanoke, Va., Draper received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana
University and served as graduate assistant to the dean of music at Southern
Methodist University where he earned a master’s degree. In 1976,
he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by Highpoint University.
Draper served as a music director for the Lake Junaluska Methodist Assembly
and at Pfeiffer College and the University of Miami, Fla. He served in
the U.S. Air Force, earning the Outstanding Service Award for his work
with the Keesler Air Force Base Male Chorus.
During his career, he directed singers’ performances before heads
of state, including every U.S. President since Richard Nixon and British
royalty. He has led 49 international concert tours and countless American
tours.
His groups, including the Chattanooga Singers and the Singing Mocs at
UTC, have performed at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, the Crystal
Cathedral in Los Angeles, Australia’s Sydney Opera House and in concert
with such famous performers as Perry Como, Wayne Newton, Tony Bennett,
and Liberace.
His groups have performed for national audiences on the "The Ed Sullivan
Show" and "The Hour of Power" and have produce more than
30 albums. His affiliation with Billy Graham’s world ministries has
taken Draper and his singers across the globe. The U.S. Department of
Defense also commissioned Draper to lead five tours to entertain overseas
military personnel.
Draper has been honored with inclusion in Who’s Who in Music Around
the World, men of Achievement Around the World, and Personalities of the
South. He has received the Love of Chattanooga Award, the Indiana Wesleyan
University Fine Arts Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Orpheus Award
from the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity and has been the recipient of
numerous teaching and advising awards at UTC.
He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music
Educators National Conference, the National Association of Teachers of
Singing, and Rotary Club International.
Draper and his wife, Lounelle, have two sons, Glenn Wright and Dean.