Vocal Division Region 2
Dr. Jordan Boyd to conduct Region 2 Mixed Choir
Dr. Jordan D. Boyd (he/him) is an active conductor based in San Antonio Texas where he is the Assistant Director of Choral Activities for the University of Texas at San Antonio. At UTSA, he conducts the Concert Choir, University Chorus, and Lyric Theatre productions. He also teaches courses in choral literature and vocal techniques along with graduate conducting. In addition to his work at UTSA, Boyd serves as the Artistic Director of IlluMen Vocal Ensemble Having conducted ensembles at virtually every level, his work emphasizes music literacy, healthy vocal production, and creating innovative performance experiences. Ensembles under his direction have received national awards and earned consistent top ratings at adjudicated festivals. As an in-demand clinician, he has had the privilege of conducting honor choirs throughout San Antonio and across Texas.
Prior to moving to Texas, Boyd was based in Charleston, South Carolina. There, he led an award-winning choral program at the Berkeley Center for the Arts at Goose Creek High School. The Goose Creek Chamber Choir were praised for their “incredible precision and musicianship” and lauded as “ambassadors of technique for high school singers”. They were invited to perform at the conventions of the South Carolina American Choral Directors Association and the South Carolina Music Educators Association along with invitations to perform on the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. In 2019, the Goose Creek Chamber Choir was a National Finalist for the American Prize in Choral Performance. Beyond academic ensembles, Dr. Boyd has enjoyed extensive work with community and professional ensembles. Prior engagements include serving as the Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus, Associate Music Director for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and Associate Conductor of the Taylor Festival Choir.
In addition to choral ensembles, Boyd is an active conductor of staged productions. Recent and upcoming credits include Brown’s Songs for a New World (UTSA 2024), Massenet’s Cendrillon (UTSA 2022), Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors (Holy City Opera 2019), Schoenberg’s Les Misérables (BCA 2019), and Menken’s Little Shop of Horrors (BCA 2018).
He holds an undergraduate degree in vocal performance and music theory/composition from the College of Charleston, a Master of Music in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting from the University of North Texas.
Dr. Carolyn Cruse to conduct Region 2 Women’s Chorus
Dr. Carolyn Cruse brings a passion for fostering vocal development and musical artistry in singers-musicians of all ages and expertise in collaboration and artistic vision in multiple settings. This is her third season with the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio after a 14-year tenure at Texas Tech University as Associate Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music Education. Dr. Cruse has served as a clinician/conductor and festival adjudicator throughout the United States and in Canada, Finland, Italy, and Kenya. She is serving as Co-President of the Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA) following a two-and-a-half-year term as President. As a performer, she is a founding member of both mirabai (nationally project-based) and Alegría (San Antonio), professional-level women’s choral ensembles dedicated to enhancing artistic expectations of women’s choral singing.
Before her appointment at Texas Tech, Dr. Cruse served as a choral conductor-teacher in both middle and high schools in Richardson and Plano ISDs. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University, a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas. She enthusiastically continues to cultivate and nurture relationships with choral conductor-teachers and music educators locally and throughout the state.
Dr. Cruse is excited to be part of the Greater San Antonio community along with her husband Rob and their new rescue puppy, “Nola.”