DENISE GILLILAND

Denise Gilliland is the elementary music teacher at Rossville Elementary School . A nearly lifelong resident of Texas , Denise began her teaching career in the Houston area in 1982. Her earliest experiences were rich with multiethnic students who helped to shape her appreciation for the uniqueness of each and every child.

In 1996 Denise and her family were transferred to Indiana where she was soon hired by the Rossville Consolidated School District . Having always been “in love” with children's choir, her close proximity to the Lafayette Children's Choir and the Indianapolis Children's Choir inspired her to complete her master's degree in choral conducting in 2006. Having studied privately with renowned conductors, Henry Leck and Eric Stark, she further enriched her choral experience by singing with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.

In addition to serving as choir director at the Unitarian Universalist Church in West Lafayette, Denise teaches public school music, . She directs the Bach Chorale's Children's Choir and Youth Choir, and is coordinator for Area IIIA's Circle the State with Song festival, and has been invited to be a clinician for next year. She is a member of Indiana Music Educator's Association, American Choral Director's Association and the Kodaly Educator's Association.

Denise is married to Mark Gilliland and has two adult sons, Wesley and Weaver. She enjoys gardening, parrots and dogs, and enjoys arranging music for children's choirs in her spare time. Her arrangement of “And the Angels Sang” by local singer/songwriters, Lisa Drake and Sharon McKnight, was premiered by the Indianapolis Children's Choir in 2006.