The Dundalk Sweet Adelines Star Spangled Chorus is proud to have Shirley Coffman share her many talents with us. Shirley is almost a chapter member of our group, joining the chapter in 1959. She was our Associate Director for several years and has served as Director of the Star Spangled Chorus since November 2000.
Shirley has an extensive background in music education, teaching it in schools for many years. She directed the Catonsville Chorus, plus coached and directed choruses in Germany, England, and Scotland. She is a Certified Director in the Sweet Adelines International organization. Shirley is continually teaching, coaching, directing, and encouraging us so that we may strive to become a top-rated chorus.
Thanks to her talent, dedication, hard work, and especially her belief in our potential, we are continuing to make steady strides towards this goal. Shirley led us in winning two medals in our 2010 regional competition (2nd place mid-size chorus and 4th place overall chorus). She also extends her barbershop expertise to Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, working with their gifted and talented girls teen quartets, who have become members of our chorus.
Shirley lives in Abingdon with her husband, Bob, and enjoys spending time with her two children and their families.
From the Director:
"It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to direct the Dundalk Chorus. They are a very hard working special group of people. Though we have varied interests and a wide gap in ages, we all work together for the good of the chorus and truly love and respect each other. We continue to improve in our craft each year and love sharing barbershop music wherever we can."
The Star Spangled Chorus is delighted to have Bev Bruening as our Associate Director. Bev joined our group in the fall of 2003. She is a retired music teacher who taught 38 years in the Dundalk community, working with the many award winning choruses from Patapsco High and Center for the Arts. Ms. Bruening has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, and received her Masters from Loyola in counseling.
At present, Bev enjoys coaching several Young Women in Harmony youth quartets. Bev is now a certified director with the Sweet Adelines International. While her musical expertise obviously keeps her extremely busy, she still has found time to become a "foster mom" for rescued schnauzers (in addition to the 4 she now owns!).
Bev's talents have proved to be a great asset to us. She also has helped recruit several of her former students to our chorus. She has been a welcome addition to our bass section, and serves on the Music Team as one of the bass section leaders. She is also our Chorus President!
Maggie Gregory Lauren Ambrosino
