The Adjudicators

Dr. Kellori Dower is the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at Cypress College in Cypress, California. She was the director of two award-winning high school choral music programs prior to serving as Director of Choral Activities at the collegiate level.  Past appointments have also included High School Principal, Asst. Principal and District Arts Administrator positions.

She is a past recipient of the Outstanding Music Educator Award for the California Music Educators Association.  Artistically, she has written several published choral works including performances of her work with the San Diego Symphony.  Dr. Dower is published through Hal Leonard. Her choral ensembles have performed in some of the most distinguished venues in the country, including Carnegie Hall, Chicago's Orchestra Hall and New York's Lincoln Center.

Dr. Dower is an active choral adjudicator and clinician and has conducted All-State and regional High School Honor ensembles across the U.S.  She is the immediate past president of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) and is a member of the California Arts Council grant review committee.  Dr. Dower also serves state choral directors as the Director of DEIAB with the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA) and also teaches on the graduate faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Her work and research regarding culture and music lead to the creation of collegiate courses in Rap and Hip Hop, Gospel Music and African-American folk compositions.

She is a proud mom of four, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a former mellophone player and drummer in the Marching Storm Band at Prairie View A & M University (HBCU).

Bio coming Soon.

Richard Waters is Director of Choral Activities, Voice Area Coordinator, and Professor of Music at Eastern Kentucky University, where he directs University Singers (SATB) and Koros (TTBB), teaches courses in conducting and choral literature, and oversees the graduate choral conducting program. Choirs under his direction have toured nationally and internationally and have been invited to perform at several state and regional music conferences.

Dr. Waters was the 2022 recipient of the Robert K. Baar Choral Excellence Award, presented annually by Kentucky ACDA in recognition of service to the choral art and dedication to the promotion of music education in the state. He was voted College/University Teacher of the Year for District 11 of KMEA in 2012 and 2016 and received Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards from the EKU Student Government Association in 2016 and 2017. From 2003-2011, he was Director of Choral Activities at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, where he received the 2008 DSU Foundation Prize for Excellence in Teaching. In addition to his university responsibilities, he conducts the annual Stephen Foster Summer Music Camp High School Choir, is the Chancel Choir Director at First Christian Church in Richmond, KY, and serves as the Repertoire-Specific Coordinator for Kentucky ACDA.

Dr. Waters maintains an active schedule as a composer, clinician, and adjudicator. His compositions are published by Carl Fischer Music, Colla Voce Music, Hinshaw Music, MorningStar Music, MusicSpoke, and St. James Music Press, and have been featured at numerous conferences, festivals, and honor choirs. He earned degrees in music education and choral conducting from James Madison University (BM), the Hartt School of Music (MM), and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (DMA).