J. Edmund Hughes

Dr. J. Edmund Hughes is on the Music Faculty of Chandler-Gilbert Community College where he teaches choir, music theory, conducting, and organizes four on-campus music festivals per year. Since 1990, he has been the Director of Music at Velda Rose United Methodist Church in Mesa. Prior to his appointment at CGCC, he taught at Phoenix College, Tucson Unified School District and at California State University-Fresno. A former TUSD nominee for Arizona Teacher of the Year, he has received the Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. He has also been honored by multiple student nominations in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers”. His choirs from Tucson High School, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (Tucson) and Phoenix College have had the distinction of performing at conventions sponsored by the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC) and the Arizona Music Educator’s Association (AMEA). Most recently, in January 2005, the CGCC College Singers performed at the AMEA Convention. He has also presented lectures and demonstrations on special interest sessions at ACDA and AMEA conventions. In 2002 he received the Arizona Outstanding Choral Educator Award by ACDA, and in 2005 he was honored as the Arizona Music Educator of the Year by AMEA. 

 Dr. Hughes is President of Arizona ACDA and has served AMEA in numerous capacities, including ChoDA President, Regional Governor and Choral Chairman. He frequently adjudicates choral festivals and directs honor choirs throughout the Southwest. Dr. Hughes has several choral compositions in print, which are published with Santa Barbara Music Publishing Co. and Colla Voce Music, Inc. He received his Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate Degrees from the University of Arizona with additional doctoral studies at the University of Southern California.