Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrie Ashbaugh.
Hi Terrie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a military family and moved to a different country every 2 years. Music has always been my passion, accompanying choirs and playing piano in church since I was 14. My Bachelor’s degree is in piano performance but it wasn’t until I started directing choirs that I found my real passion. Twenty years later, I got a Masters in Choral Conducting and have conducted community choirs since. The Arizona Women’s Chorus has traveled internationally and commissioned new works for women’s voices under my direction. As a result of the traveling chorus, I was featured in the Tucson Lifestyles Magazine “Upfront Notable” article. I founded the Arizona Choral Arts Association which is a networking consortium for community choirs in the state of Arizona, founded the Women in Song festival for women’s choirs nationally, and founded the Tucson Summer Chorus which is open to all singers for 8 weeks in the summer as most choirs take the summer off. During my tenure here in Tucson, I have received recognition twice from the Mayor of Tucson, been nominated for the Governor’s Arts Award by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and served two terms on the Arizona chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association Board of Directors.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Educating a Board of Directors, and chorus singers that there is considerably more in the world than a ‘ladies singing club’ has been my biggest challenge. We started with 30 older women who sang showtunes for retirement homes, to now more than 100 singers preforming in France for the D-Day Wreath Laying Ceremonies, in London, and Carnegie Hall, NY. I like to dream big and challenge people to think beyond their small world. In founding these other organizations, it’s been difficult convincing people of the purpose of these groups, obtaining financial support, and recognition. Much of the financials have come from very few community donors (we are mostly supported by members of the choral organizations) instead of corporate sponsorships, or benefactors. We have been able to secure some grants for hosting choral composers, hosting festivals for women’s voices, writing new commissions, or providing workshops for schools and church choirs.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a musician, trained pianist and choral conductor. My professional piano career started when I was 14 and living in Athens, Greece. Having traveled around the world as I was growing up, I have found how incredibly rewarding it is to be in different cultures which also helps me be a good leader for people with different personalities, cultural backgrounds, idiosyncrasies, and tolerance issues. I now specialize in Women’s Chorus, having sort of ‘fallen’ in to that as a job to help pay for my graduate degree. It’s been 27 years now with that same chorus and I am indeed proud that they’ve gone from 30 older women as a singing club, to over 100 women performing in other countries and experiencing other cultures. We have had 7 different compositions written just for us and are in fact performing the biggest and most challenging one, a 20 minute, five movement work, written for women’s chorus and orchestra as a World Premier in New York in the June of 2026. All of the festivals, traveling, commissions, inviting choral composers and conductors known world-wide have been through my inspiration and hard work to make it happen. We are the only adult traveling chorus in our community, and have done considerable more to serve our local community.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Starting out as an accompanist, I have played for some very influential choral directors who have been mentors to me along the way. Probably the most influential was the founder/director of the Columbia Boys Choirs in Seattle, Washington. He modeled a positive and uplifting attitude toward working with children, encouraged me to teach singing and directing, and I traveled internationally with this chorus which instilled in me the desire to do the same someday with my own choir. Most of my choir members in the many choirs I have conducted, have mentioned that they enjoy singing with me because of my positive, upbeat, fun – yet serious attitude about the music, and teaching process which has helped my organizations grow to large numbers, and far reaching.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.azwomenschorus.org
- Instagram: azwomenschorus
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/azwomenschorus
Image Credits
Momta Popat, Veneklasen Tucson Lifestyles, Robert Ashbaugh, Jesse Jackson
