Our Vision: The Brazos Valley Chorale is proud to be an important contributor to a high quality of life in the Brazos Valley community.
Our Mission: The Brazos Valley Chorale brings together passionate singers of varying ages and musical backgrounds to perform and to foster an appreciation for high quality choral arts in our community.
Our History: The Brazos Valley Chorale was founded in 1969 as the Community Singers after a successful collaborative concert demonstrated a desire for such an organization. Its founding members envisioned a community choral group to fulfill a cultural need expressed by many singers and musicians residing in the area. The Chorale’s outstanding record of achievement has expanded the audience of choral music and contributed to the growth of the arts in Central Texas. Over the years more than 1870 singers have participated in our concerts. The ensemble has grown from a handful of dedicated volunteers to an auditioned choir of 90-120 musicians, from which soloists and small ensembles are selected as needed. Many members of our Chorale have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Over this time, the Chorale has had 15 conductors:
- James Matheny (May 1970 – December 1975)
- Sam J. Marley, Assistant Conductor (May 1970 – December 1971)
- Jim Austin (May 1971)
- Dennis Driscoll (April 1976 – 1980)
- Nancy Matchett (March 1977 – November 1977; February 1979 – December 1979)
- John Hornbeck (March 1978 – December 1978)
- Paul Kirby (February 1980 – April 1982)
- David Stevens (November 1982 – April 1984)
- Christy Dyer (November 1984 – March 1987)
- Herbert Teat (March 1988 – November 1988)
- Jess Wade III (February 1989 – May 2013)
- James Franklin (July 2013 – July 2015)
- Eric Posada (August 2015 – July 2017)
- Lawrence Abernathy, Interim (September 2015-December 2015)
- Don McAvoy (August 2017 – December 2022)
- Tom Gerber (January 2023 – present)
Tom Gerber assumed duties as our Artistic Director and Conductor on January 1, 2023. Tom also currently serves as the Assistant Director of Choral Activities at Texas A&M, where he serves as the conductor of the Century Singers and the Women’s Chorus.
Originally from Austin, Minnesota, he served as Music Director at Bishop England High School, where he conducted the Mixed Choir, Chorale, and Chamber Choir. During his tenure, the choirs of Bishop England made their Carnegie Hall debut, performing Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and the Carnegie Hall premiere of William Menefields, Prism. In 2016 he was the recipient of the Outstanding New Faculty Member award. During his time at Bishop England, he also taught music history and music theory and was music director for the annual Spring musicals.
Tom served as the Associate Music Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus from 2018-2020. During this time, he had the pleasure of preparing annual performances of Handel’s Messiah. Additionally, in 2019 he prepared the chorus for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ in collaboration with CineConcerts and their Harry Potter™ Film Concert Series.
Tom received his Bachelor of Arts in Choral and Instrumental Music Education from Luther College in Decorah, IA, under Dr. Allen Hightower and Dr. Edwin Andereck, where he was a section leader of the internationally acclaimed Nordic Choir. Gerber received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, OH, under the tutelage of Dr. Earl Rivers and Dr. Brett Scott while also studying voice with David Adams. While at CCM, Gerber served as a graduate research assistant to Dr. Eva Floyd and also taught the undergraduate voice methods class and voice lessons. Currently, he is finishing up his DMA in Choral Conducting with a related field in Vocal Pedagogy at the University of North Texas, Denton, TX, where he is a student of Dr. Allen Hightower, Dr. Kristina MacMullen, and Dr. Stephen Austin.
Bryce Reed serves as the accompanist to the Brazos Valley Chorale, as well as the accompanist for the Texas A&M Singing Cadets and the pianist for St. Francis Episcopal Church in College Station. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Baylor University. He was a member, officer, and pianist for the Baylor University Men’s Choir. Bryce performed as accompanist at the American Choral Directors Association Southwest Conference in 2018 and the ACDA National Conference in 2019 in Kansas City.
| Executive Committee | President | Chris Caffee |
| Vice President | Marilyn Dyess | |
| Secretary | Joy Wurzbach | |
| Treasurer | Brian Kaspar | |
| Artistic Director | Tom Gerber | |
| Administrative Director | Larry Lippke | |
| Board Members | Bob Bruce | Karen Fincher |
| Becky Hall | James Hallmark | |
| Cathy Holste | Joe Leavengood | |
| Anna Lichorad | Karin Loftin | |
| Laura Mann | Richard Miles | |
| Susan Miles | Michael Munene | |
| Hellen Treat-Balcar | Jean Westphal | |
| Accompanist | Bryce Reed | |
| Webmaster | Larry Lippke | |
| Librarian | Teri Ross | |
| Section Leaders | Soprano | TBD |
| Alto | TBD | |
| Tenor | TBD | |
| Bass | TBD |
