Ann Kearns (1939 - 2016)

Ann Kearns was Professor of Music and Director of Choral Music at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA from 1976 to 2000. As one of the first female choral directors in the Pioneer Valley, she led the way for other women to enter the field. She earned a Master of Music from the University of Wisconsin and studied choral conducting at the Juilliard School of Music. Her compositions are published and performed widely and have received several awards, including first place in Alice Parker's Composition Search for Melodious Accord in New York City. Kearns had distinguished commissions and performances by the Blanche Moyse Chorale, Alice Parker and others. She prepared and conducted choral arrangements for Mary Lyon: Precious Time, a documentary about the beginning of higher education for women.