Biography

Erin Mary Grady was born on November 17, 1983 to John and Cathy Grady. She lived the first few years of her life in Richmond Shores, MA. After her brother Michael was born in 1986, the family moved to Dalton, MA.

Erin attended St. Agnes Elementary School from preschool until grade eight. During this period of her life, Erin was very active in sports as well as the arts. She took tap, jazz, and ballet dance lessons from age 3 to age 11. She studied flute in fifth and sixth grades, and began her private vocal studies in seventh grade. In addition, she played soccer for ten years and softball for nine, while occasionally taking part in gymnastics, tae kwon do, and basketball.

Erin then moved on to Wahconah Regional High School. Many opportunities awaited Erin there, and she took advantage of as many of them as she could. Erin's main focuses were on drama, music, and academics. As a member of the Apollonian Players drama club, Erin participated in nine shows, with roles including Geminae Twin #1 in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Arabella Saltmarsh in It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Arlene Abernathy in Guys & Dolls, Dame Rose Maitland in Star Chamber, and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Erin's participation in drama led to her increased involvement in Wahconah's excellent music program, led at the time by Neil and Julie Freebern. By the time Erin reached her sophomore year of high school, she had realized that music would be her career focus, and it wasn't long before she decided that she wanted to be a teacher. While she was at Wahconah, Erin participated in Women's Chorus, Mixed Chorus, Chamber Choir, Vocal Applied, Percussion Ensemble, and the football Pep Band. She also pursued independent studies in music theory and music education. Outside of school, Erin continued her private vocal studies, was a percussionist for the Berkshire County Eagles Band, and formed a small a cappella group. She was a member of the MMEA Western District Senior Honors Chorus, the Western Massachusetts Honors Chorus in conjunction with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Massachusetts All-State Chorus, and the All-New England Choral Festival.

Other activities Erin enjoyed at Wahconah included being an active member in the Quiz Team, the Mock Trial Team, Academic Decathlon, the Speech Team, and Peer Education. She was the captain for her school's appearance on the long-running TV quiz show As Schools Match Wits, which aired in the spring of 2002. She also served on the Student Council, was a Student Representative to the School Board, and was a member of the National Honor Society. Erin graduated as Valedictorian of Wachonah's class of 2002, and gave her speech on the importance of teachers of all kinds in today's society.

Erin earned her undergraduate degree at Oberlin College, where she majored in music, with an emphasis on history and theory, while also minoring in psychology and cognitive sciences. While there, she became interested in the cognitive processes involved in listening to and making music, and did independent studies in the area under the supervision of Arnie Cox. She also enjoyed studies in linguistics and mathematics, and worked as a circulation supervisor, Inter-library Loan and OHIOLink officer, and preparations assistant at the Oberlin Conservatory Library.

While at Oberlin, Erin took many music education classes, since, while not a major, she was very interested in exploring her options as a music teacher. She has taken part in many exciting musical opportunities. She has been a member of the Oberlin College Singers and the Oberlin Musical Union, under the direction of Hugh Floyd. She was a member of Collegium Musicum Oberliniense, an early music vocal ensemble directed by Steven Plank, as well as a five-person chamber ensemble specializing in vocal Renaissance polyphony. Rounding out her choral experience at Oberlin, Erin was a proud member of The Offbeats, Oberlin's co-ed jazz a cappella ensemble. She has also taken advantage of Oberlin's conducting and stringed instrument classes, and studied voice as her secondary instrument.

Over two Winter Terms at Oberlin, Erin performed in medieval operas directed by Mary E. Larew. Exploring this genre has been very exciting for Erin. In 2004, she played the role of Faith in Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum, which received positive write-ups in Cleveland's Plain Dealer, The Oberlin Review, and Early Music America Magazine. In 2005, Erin performed as both a Queen's Attendant and an Enemy of Daniel in the 13th century play Ludus Danielis (The Play of Daniel), which will gave performances in Oberlin, Cleveland, and Boston.

During her senior year at Oberlin, Erin engaged in an independent conducting project in which she organized and directed a performance of Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb under the supervision of Jody Kerchner.

Erin graduated with a Masters Degree and teacher licensure on May 17, 2009 from Case Western Reserve University. There, she served as a Graduate Assistant with Case Concert Choir under Dr. Robert Dunn, Dr. Lisa Koops, and Dr. Ben Ayling. Erin has completed her music and general education courses with much success, and has risen to positions of leadership as a graduate student. In the fall of 2008, she was appointed the Director of the Case University Singers, an unauditioned choral ensemble. This was the first time in recent history that a graduate student was given this position, usually appointed to faculty with a PhD. Erin also serves as Assistant Director and Soprano Section Leader for the Chancel Choir at the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland.

She looks forward to some day teaching high school chorus and general music. Additional past teaching experience includes her work as a TA for Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology at Oberlin, a job as a summer school teacher at for the Pittsfield Public Schools teaching high school math and middle school science, and various practicum experiences in her music education classes at Oberlin and Case. Erin also team-taught a preschool music class at Hawken Lower School from 2007 to 2008.