Joseph Kevin Ford was born in Chickamauga, Georgia. He was granted
the BS in Choral and Instrumental Music Education from The University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the MME, and the Ph.D. in Choral Music
Education from The Florida State University. While at Florida State
University he studied conducting with Rodney Eichenberger and served
as his assistant conductor for two years. He has also studied conducting
with Dr. André Thomas and wind band conducting with Dr.
James Croft. Dr. Ford has continued his conducting training through
workshops with Robert Shaw, Roger Wagner, Dale Warland, Frederic
Fennel, and Arnold Gabriel.
Dr. Ford taught High School Chorus, Band and Middle School Band
in Rossville, Georgia where his performance groups consistently
made Superior ratings at festivals. He was formerly Music Program
Coordinator and Choral Director at Chattanooga State Technical
Community College in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was also teacher
of conducting and choral music education at the Crane School
of Music at The State University of New York College at Potsdam
where
he founded the Potsdam Community Chorus and formed and directed
the chorus for the opening ceremony of the 2000 Goodwill Games
in Lake Placid, NY. Dr. Ford also served on the faculty of The
University of North Carolina at Charlotte as Director of Choral
Activities and Coordinator of Vocal Music Education prior to
his current appointment as Director of Choral Activities at
The University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga where his UTC Chamber Singers were the invited featured University Chorus at the 2005 Conference of the Tennessee Music Educators Association in Nashville, TN.
He is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the
American Choral Directors Association, the Tennessee Music
Educators Association, East Tennessee Vocal Association, College
Music
Society and the International Federation for Choral Music.
He is a state officer in the Tennessee American Choral Directors
Association where he is the Repertoire and Standards Chair for
Community Choruses. His arrangements and editions are published
with Colla Voce and Moon of Hope publishing
companies. Dr.
Ford has guest conducted and adjudicated in Alabama, Tennessee,
Georgia,
Florida,
New York, North Carolina and in Montreal, Canada.
