Terry Hicks, SoNA Singers Director

Terry Hicks is in his twenty-ninth year as choral director for the Bentonville Public School System. The first three were spent teaching middle school general music classes and conducting the Sam M. Walton Junior High choirs. He is currently in his nineteenth year as Head Choral Director at Bentonville High School (B.H.S.). Terry holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York and a Masters in Music Education degree from the University of Arkansas. He has had the opportunity to observe Robert Shaw at the Robert Shaw Choral Institute at Furman University in Greenville, SC and to sing in the Robert Shaw Choral Workshop in New York City under the baton of Charles Dutoit in Carnegie Hall. He has also worked with René Clausen through the René Clausen Choral School. Under Terry’s direction, the choirs at B.H.S. have consistently earned superior ratings at Arkansas Region and State Festivals. The Chamber Choir has won “Best in Class” and “Grand Champion” awards at Musicfest Orlando. His choirs have been invited to sing at the Arkansas All-State Music Conference sponsored by ArkCDA three times. The Chamber Choir was invited to perform at the ACDA Southwest Division Convention twice, was requested to perform for Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex as a cultural representative of Arkansas, and performed for the ACDA National Convention twice. In 2007 the Chamber Choir was one of four choirs from across the United States invited to perform in Carnegie Hall with Craig Jessop conducting. The Chamber Choir also received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall for their individual performance. The B.H.S. choirs have toured New York, Minnesota, Texas, as well as Germany and Austria this past summer. The tours have provided the choirs with opportunities to appear on “Café USA Live,” “The Today Show,” and on NPR’s “Weekend Edition.” Among others, B.H.S. Choirs have also participated in workshops with René Clausen, Anton Armstrong, Stan McGill and Jerry McCoy. In addition to his other duties, Terry teaches AP Music Theory and is the lead teacher of International Baccalaureate Music offered at B.H.S. He was awarded the Distinguished Director Award for the state of Arkansas by ArkCDA in 2001 and received this award again in 2005. Terry is a past president of Arkansas ACDA and past region chairperson for the Northwest Region of ArkCDA. His professional memberships and affiliations include ACDA and Phi Mu Alpha. Terry and his wife Peggy reside in Bella Vista with their children Katie and John Thomas.