Dr. Cindy Harrison
Director of Navarro College Choir
A native of Wisconsin, Cindy Harrison has been a music/choral/theatre educator for more than three decades. She has taught every level from pre-school through graduate school in five states (Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas) and performed in opera, oratorio, musical theatre, dramatic theatre and in recital. Her choirs have performed nationally and internationally. She is thrilled to have found her way to Navarro College where she serves as Director of Choral Activities.
Cindy obtained her Bachelor’s degree in K-12 Choral/Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she sung with Robert Fountain. She worked for a number of years in Wisconsin teaching general and choral music.
Cindy earned her Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University, studying with Elizabeth Fischer Monastero and Bruce Hall. While there, she performed the role of Julianna Bordereau in the world premiere of Hagemann’s The Aspern Papers.
Her career took her to LaGrange College (GA) where she served as Adjunct Professor of Voice, often performing in recital and concert. She then accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at John Brown University (AR). While there, Cindy directed many staged opera productions including The Magic Flute, She Loves Me, Hansel and Gretel, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. She moved to Memphis to serve as the Director of Education and Company Manager for Opera Memphis. She also served as an Adjunct voice professor at the University of Memphis where she was invited to guest direct Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. She then returned to the choral classroom where she has spent the last twenty years growing voice and choral programs.
Cindy’s choirs have performed in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Her choral ensembles have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and with area symphonies and have had frequent radio and television performances. In addition, Cindy’s choirs have maintained a strong community presence, performing at Veterans Administration Hospitals and a multitude of community organizations.
Her students have been accepted into prestigious programs such as Interlochen Center for the Arts, North Carolina School of the Arts, Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, New York University, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Cherub program at Northwestern University, and the National Honor Choir. A former student of Cindy’s recently signed her first recording contract while another went on to be a Metropolitan Opera National Council Semi-Finalist. Her students have maintained a strong presence in every competition hosted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Many students have gone on to professional careers as performers and music teachers.
To date, Cindy has directed approximately 30 productions and performed twelve different roles ranging from Queen of the Night in The Magic flute to Peep-bo in The Mikado to Olive Madison in the female version of The Odd Couple. She has sung in concert with orchestras in Georgia, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Tennessee. Along the way, she also earned her Ed.D. in Administrator Leadership in Teaching and Learning from Walden University.
Cindy also serves as Director of Music and Worship at First Methodist Church-Corsicana. She has two adult daughters, Caitlin and Olivia, who live in Knoxville, TN and New York City, respectively. She and her husband, Joseph, live in Corsicana, TX.