Artistic Director / Conductor​

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A native of Charleston, SC, Leah Keyes Durham holds the Bachelor of Music degree in choral music education from Furman University and the Master of Music in choral conducting performance from Louisiana State University. She is in her fifteenth year of teaching and conducting across four states. Before coming to ACS, Leah taught chorus/music in public schools (elementary, middle, and high) and in church settings (adults, children, and youth). As a public school music educator, choirs under her direction regularly won superior ratings at state and regional festivals, and her students earned spots in All-State choirs. Leah was honored as District Teacher of the Year for Anderson School District 4 (SC) in 2011-2012 and previously served as the Middle School Chair for the SC American Choral Directors Association. An active chorister, Leah sings in the Chancel Choir at First United Methodist Church Tuscaloosa and with the Taylor Festival Choir, a professional chamber choir based in Charleston, where she often appears as soprano soloist. Leah moved to Tuscaloosa from Pendleton, South Carolina in 2021 with her husband, Justin, and their two young children, Colin and Molly.

Executive Director / Rehearsal Assistant​

Sarah Vander Wal began her cello studies in fifth grade as part of a school orchestra program in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance from the University of Alabama. Sarah performs regularly with many professional orchestras, churches, and other musical organizations across the Southeast, including, but not limited to, the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. She has years of experience as a music educator, teaching private cello lessons, Kindermusik, and general elementary school music. Sarah also has over fifteen years of experience in office administration. She lives in Tuscaloosa with her husband, Greg, and their four children, three of whom are Alabama Choir School students or graduates.

Collaborative Pianist / Rehearsal Assistant

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Originally from Chicago, Steven began his career as a church musician at age fourteen serving as a volunteer organist. After high school, he attended Elmhurst College from 1988 to 1992, receiving a Bachelor of Music in music business and a Bachelor of Arts in church music. Thereafter, Steven received his Master of Sacred Music in 1995 at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU in Dallas. Upon graduating, he began as Director of Music and Organist for the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Tennessee, and was conductor of the Festival Singers, an inter-denominational community choir hosted at the church. Steven also was musical director for the Jackson Theater Guild and served as the primary accompanist for the Jackson Community Children’s Choir as part of the community music program at Union University. In 2006 he moved to Oxford, MS, completing his Doctor of Philosophy in music education at the University of Mississippi in 2010, working full-time as a financial aid administrator and serving as Organist/Choirmaster for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, also accompanying the Oxford Civic Chorus. Steven has two great dogs, Sadie and Addie, loves gardening and musical theatre.

Conductor

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Dr. Julie Bannerman is passionate about developing young singers’ voices and creating community through choral singing. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Julie sang in children’s choirs throughout her youth where she was inspired to become a music teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Choral / General Music Education from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a PhD in Music Education from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

As a public-school music educator, Julie taught general/vocal music in early childhood, elementary, and middle school settings. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Alabama where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and coordinates the PreK Music Partnership with Tuscaloosa City Schools. Prior to Alabama, she served as the Early Childhood Music Specialist at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in Potsdam, New York. In her teaching she draws from approaches like Kodály-inspired pedagogy and Orff Schulwerk that combine active music making with building children’s musical skills and literacy.

Julie is an active presenter at state and national music education conferences. She regularly presents at the Alabama Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference and
the National Association for Music Education Music Research and Teacher Education Conference.

Julie lives in Tuscaloosa with her husband, Juanjo; they have two children: Alejandro and Santiago.