Staff
Steven Edwards, Musical Director
Steven Edwards has served as Music Director of Symphony Chorus of New Orleans since August of 1990. During that time he has prepared and/or conducted the chorus for more than a hundred performances with the New Orleans Symphony and its successor, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Under his direction the chorus has enjoyed critical acclaim and garnered numerous awards for the quality and variety of its performances.
In addition to his work with Symphony Chorus, Edwards is Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music and Music Business at Delgado Community College. A twenty-five year career in higher education has included appointments as Director of Choral Activities at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, IN, Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI, Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and Loyola University in New Orleans. He earned a Masters Degree in Musicology from the University of Illinois and has completed all requirements except the dissertation for the Doctorate in Choral Music and Conducting from the same institution. He received his B.A. in Music summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Choirs and orchestras under his direction have given numerous invited performances at state, regional, and national conventions of NPM, MENC, ASTA, LCDA, and ACDA. He has prepared and/or directed several premier performances including major works by composers Ned Rorem, John Carbon, Veikko Ahvenainen, Donald Reagan, Rob Kapilow, and Stephen Dankner.
In addition to his choral work, Edwards continues an active performing career as coach/accompanist for singers and pianist in instrumental chamber music. A popular guest conductor, he has made appearances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, Gulf Coast Opera, Loyola Opera Theatre, The Orleans Chamber Singers, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and the Lancaster Chamber Singers, along with numerous festivals, contests, and honor choirs throughout the United States. Each year in July and August he returns to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to conduct the orchestra and chorus of the Superior Music Festival.
Amanda Wadsworth, Accompanist
Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Ms. Wadsworth earned her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of New Orleans in 2004, and her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Slippery Rock University in 2002. Her teachers have included Carol Hazlett, Dr. Nanette Kaplan Solomon, and Mary Ann Bulla.
Upon completing her education she accepted a position as the Staff Accompanist at the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans where she accompanied the school musicals and the choral program. In the spring of 2005 she began her teacher apprenticeship training at the Pittsburgh Music Academy studying the Suzuki method of teaching piano. She completed the Every Child Can course and Levels 1-3, and accepted a position in the fall of 2005 at the Academy as Assistant to the Director.
In October of 2006 she returned to New Orleans and resumed her position as the Staff Accompanist at Isidore Newman. She also joined the Symphony Chorus of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the St. Louis Cathedral Choirs as their accompanist. In addition to these engagements, Ms. Wadsworth performed with the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the McGehee School for Girls, McMain High School, Chapelle High School, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. In January of 2007, she joined the staff of the Music Department at Loyola University accompanying the University Chorus, Chorale, Women’s Chorus, and private lessons. She also toured with the McGehee Choirs performing throughout Spain and France in the spring of 2007.
In 2007 she began teaching music to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at the Isidore Newman School, as well as accompanying the school’s choral program. She also joined the faculty at Delgado College in New Orleans as an adjunct teacher of Group Piano, Music Appreciation, and private lessons. She continues to accompany the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans and she is active as an adjudicator of piano competitions and festivals around the city.
Ms. Wadsworth is a member of the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the American Orff Schulwerk Association, the American Choral Directors Association, and MENC. She has taken courses studying the Suzuki method of teaching piano, Music Together courses, and certification programs of Orff Schulwerk. She has also completed the “This World Music” course at the University of Massachusetts Amherst focusing on African drumming, singing, and dancing, and she has completed a field study at the Dagbe Cultural Arts Center in Kopeiya, Ghana studying the music and culture of the Ewe tribe.
Emily Fransen, Administrative Director
Jodee Daroca, Financial Director
