Our Mission

Director, Una Vocé

Margaret Heron recently retired after a 25-year career as Choral Director and AP Music Theory Instructor at Mortimer Jordan High School and Choral Director at North Jefferson Middle School in the Jefferson County School System. For her first nine years, Mrs. Heron also taught Junior and Senior High Band. She earned a BA in Instrumental Music Education from The University of Alabama and a Masters in Choral Music Education from The University of Alabama at Birmingham, summa cum laude. Mrs. Heron received National Board Certification in Choral Music in 2008. Under her direction, her choirs consistently received Superior ratings at District, State, national, and international festivals and were invited to perform all over the Southeast. She has been the Choral Clinician and adjudicator for various honor choirs, festivals, and camps throughout the south. Mrs. Heron served on the state board of the Alabama Choral Directors Association and the Alabama Vocal Association Executive Board. She has worked for the College Board, training teachers to score AP Theory exams. Mrs. Heron developed It Works In Theory, a sequential and comprehensive curriculum for teaching music theory in the classroom. She rejoined the teaching staff at Birmingham Girls Choir in 2013 and became Executive Director in 2021. She is passionate about teaching young people the value of commitment to excellence and unity through the beauty of choral singing.

Director, Intermezzo

Meredith DeVore is the music specialist at Shades Mountain Elementary School where she teaches K-5 music and directs the SMES Singers. She has been the director of the Intermezzo Choir of the Birmingham Girls Choir since 2011. She earned her Bachelor's of Music Education from Auburn University, graduating summa cum laude in 2008. Mrs. DeVore directed the choral program at Clay-Chalkville Middle School for seven years, growing the program and leading the choirs to perform locally as well as across the Southeast. At CCMS, her singers consistently earned superior ratings and were accepted into local and state honor choirs. Mrs. DeVore is also active in the music ministry at Hunter Street Baptist Church, where she sings in the worship choir and directs OneVoice, an ensemble of auditioned high school singers. Mrs. DeVore is a member of the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association, where she serves as a coordinator of the Young Voices Festival. She and her husband Elliott have two children, Hadley and Wyatt.

Director, Prelude

Sadie Wall is a general music specialist at Edgewood Elementary in Homewood, AL, where she co-teaches Kindergarten through fifth grade music with her partner, Matthew Wall. Ms. Wall earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Montevallo and completed her Masters in Music Education at Texas Tech University. She is a certified Kodály educator through the endorsed program at the University of Montevallo, has attended additional levels at West Texas Kodály Initiative, and holds her Level I certificate in Orff. Ms. Wall serves as President of the Sweet Home Alabama Kodály Educators (SHAKE), the children’s choir coordinator for Alabama Choral Directors Association. Ms. Wall was the recipient of the 2021 Alabama Music Educators Association Young Music Educator Award and the 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year at Edgewood Elementary. Ms. Wall joined the Birmingham Girls Choir staff in 2022 as director of Prelude, BGC’s beginning choir. She has since started a musicianship class, Dolce, for the youngest BGC girls. At Birmingham Girls Choir, students build community and musicianship through a commitment to personal and musical excellence and Ms. Wall is honored to be a part of the organization. Sadie has been the elementary choral clinician at Camp Sumatanga (2024) and Camp JAM (2025). For her own fulfillment as a musician, Sadie Wall sings with the EWTN televised mass choir and the Alabama Choral Society.

Choir Accompanist

Karen Krekelberg is currently on staff at Vestavia Hills Methodist Church as the Associate Director of Music Ministry and Organist. Karen earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Montevallo with an emphasis in Piano Pedagogy. While there, she studied piano with Robert Cowan and organ with Betty Louise Lumby. She currently teaches private piano at VHMC’s Conservatory of the Arts and is a member of AMTA and AGO. Karen is a mother of two grown children and grandmother of two precious girls. She can often be found accompanying for various music groups around Birmingham such as Cahaba Chamber Chorale and Over the Mountain Music Festival.

Accompanist

Cathy Shelton taught choral music in Alabama public schools for 34 years, retiring in 2015 from Hoover High School, where she was the Assistant Choral Director, IB Music, and Piano Keyboard Lab teacher. She has undergraduate music performance degrees from the University of Alabama (piano and organ) and a master’s degree from Northwestern University (piano, with an assistantship in choral accompanying). Cathy currently teaches piano at the Vestavia Methodist Conservatory of the Arts, and has a part time position in the choral department at Spain Park High School.

Director, Una Vocé (South)

Tyra Shelley holds a Bachelor of Music in church music with emphasis in vocal performance from Carson-Newman University, and she received her Masters of Music in church music with emphasis in choral conducting from Samford University. She served as the assistant conductor of the Samford A Cappella Choir in which she was also a member for three years. Additionally, Ms. Shelley assisted with the Alabama Symphony Chorus under the direction of Philip Copeland. Tyra is on staff at Vestavia Hills Methodist Church as the administrator of the Conservatory of the Arts, where she also teaches private voice.

Director, Intermezzo (South)

Meredith Taylor currently serves as the Music Teacher at Warrior Elementary School in Jefferson County. In her time at Warrior, Ms. Taylor revitalized the music program and established The Warrior Voices, an extracurricular choir for fourth and fifth graders. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from The University of Alabama with a degree in Vocal/Choral Music Education. In her time at The University (Roll Tide!), she was a very active member of the choral program, participating in the Treble Chorus, Druid City Chorus, and The University Singers. In addition to her classroom teaching, Ms. Taylor is a Voice Instructor at Hunter Street Arts Academy, where she has experience teaching singers of all ages. She is a member of both the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). She currently serves ACDA as a Co-Coordinator of the Alabama Young Voices Festival. When she's not teaching, you can find her playing video games, singing along to her favorite musicals, working on arts and crafts projects, or spending time with her cat, Daisy. Ms. Taylor is so excited to bring her joy for music-making to BGC!

Director, Dolce

Virginia Barr is the instructor of our newest class, Dolce. Virginia is the Music Teacher at Crestline Elementary School in Mountain Brook. She has taught music in public schools since 2020. She has completed Orff Schülwerk Level III and Kodály Level III certification programs, and she is the current President-Elect of the Alabama chapter of the American Orff Schülwerk Association (AL AOSA). Virginia graduated from Samford University with a master's degree in Music Education with a Choral Concentration in May of 2020. A native of Birmingham, AL, she has worked part-time as a children's music teacher at Trinity United Methodist Church since 2017. She was the Children's Music Director at South Highland Presbyterian Church from 2017-2023, and she taught Preschool Music at the South Highland Child Development Center from 2017-2020. She graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine with a Bachelors of Arts in Music and a minor in Earth and Oceanographic Science in 2016. Virginia has also performed in theatrical performances at various regional theaters in Birmingham since 2016. Most recently, she performed in the ensemble of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Virginia Samford Theatre in the summer of 2024. Virginia is thrilled to be teaching with the Birmingham Girls Choir!

Administrative Assistant

Kelsey Kavookjian serves as the Administrative Assistant for the Birmingham Girls Choir. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Tulane University and a Master of Arts in History with an emphasis in Education from Grand Canyon University. Kelsey currently serves as a counselor for the College of Education at Grand Canyon University, where she supports future educators as they work toward completing their teaching programs. With a deep appreciation for music and a passion for education, Kelsey is excited to be part of an organization that inspires confidence, creativity, and a lifelong love of singing in young musicians. She lives in Mt. Olive with her three rescue dogs, Argos, Cleo, and Sirius.