fairbankssweetadelines.org/director.htm -
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Published on: 8/18/2008
Last Visited: 8/18/2008
Patti Gallagher has been a student of music her entire life.Born into a musical family, she learned to play several instruments as a child and graduated from high school in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with many musical awards that propelled her into a lifetime of music study.She obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Oregon and taught music in the public schools for several years.It was at this point that she first came to Alaska.
Patti joined our chorus in 1972, after seeing the group on a float in the Golden Days Parade.She became Assistant Director in 1974 and Director in 1977.Under her leadership, the chorus staged many memorable shows (The Joy of Frostbite, Wandering Star, A Step In Time, etc.), won medals in competitions and became a central feature at Fairbanks community events.Additionally, her quartets, Arctic Association and Alaska Gold, became Regional champions and competed three times on the International stage.She also directed, and starred in, several FLOT productions, directed the men's chorus and the FLOT Showcase ... and had a full-time business teaching private voice and piano lessons.Busy woman!
In 1985, Patti married Paul Gallagher and in 1986 he was transferred to Chicago, Illinois.While in the Chicago area, Patti earned two master's degrees from the prestigious Northwestern University - one in Voice Performance and one in Choral Conducting.She then went on to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and completed all her course work for her doctorate in music education.
In 1992, she and Paul moved to Florida and Patti worked on her dissertation.She was nearly finished with it when she contracted a very serious illness, dermatomyositis.This disease took her several years to overcome ... and by the time she had whipped it into submission, she and Paul had decided to return to Fairbanks, where they have spent the happiest times of their lives.Patti and Paul arrived in Fairbanks on June 9, 2001 and Patti came to chorus the very next Thursday!Patti and Paul arrived in Fairbanks on June 9, 2001 and Patti came to chorus the very next Thursday!
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Patti is not only our director, but is once again on the FLOT Board of Directors, the newly-elected President of the Interior Alaska Keyboard Teachers and has her own music studio ... Opus One Music.At her church, she directs the Drama Ministry, plays in the Jubilee Bells and sings (and plays tambourine) in the Praise Band ... Whew!We look forward to many hours of musical fulfillment under her leadership and her husband's coaching expertise!