Ruth Purcell attended the six-day Choristers Guild Institute at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, July 23-28, 2010. The Institute is a three-summer certification program for directors of children’s choirs in a Christian church, school, or community choir setting. She participated in a rigorous schedule of classes and workshops with nationally recognized faculty, including Dr. Anton Armstron of St. Olaf College, Dr. C. Michael Hawn of SMU, Dr. Madeline Bridges of Belmont University and director of the Nashville Children’s Choir, and Dr. Heather Potter, an Associate Conductor with the Charlotte, NC Children’s Choir, and an active clinician training directors of treble choirs all over the country.

“It was very inspiring to spend a week with so many dedicated colleagues and outstanding instructors,” Mrs. Purcell commented. “Music education, particularly  singing beautiful music with inspirational texts, is so important for the formation of the soul. A child who sings is a child who feels his/her self-worth and recognizes and appreciates beauty. A child who sings in a chorus has an experience of self-discipline and of creating something beautiful with others; this is an experience that is never forgotten.”