Biography
Dr. Grace Cummings received a B.S. in Music Education from Roberts Wesleyan College, a M.M. in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College, and a D.M.A. in Vocal Music Education from Eastman School of Music. An energetic communicator, Dr. Cummings has been featured as a clinician for the New York State School Music Association Conference in Rochester, N.Y. and as a presenter at the International Conference on Music Learning Theory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
An enthusiastic and inspiring conductor, Dr. Cummings has directed the Monroe County Music Educators Association Women’s Choir. She has conducted the All-City Elementary Chorus, All-City High School Chorus, and Area All-State Junior High Mixed Choir in Rochester, N.Y. She has also conducted the Niagara County Music Educators Association Junior High All-County Chorus, the Genesee Valley Music Educators Association All-County Festival High School Chorus, the Chenango County Music Educators Association High School Chorus, and the Livingston County Music Educators Association All-County High School Chorus.
Dr. Cummings enjoys performing at faculty recitals and church venues, as well as speaking at churches, retreats, and mission trips to Kenya, Nicaragua, Canada, and throughout the United States. In both 2016 and 2017, she performed at the Rochester Summer Voice Seminar with Judith Coen, Robert Shewan, Pamela Gilmore, and Elaine Smith Purcell. She also sings and speaks in prison ministry at the Norton Correctional Facility in Norton County, Kansas several times a year.
Among her former Music Education students are Alden Snell, Assistant Professor of Music Education at Eastman School of Music, where he instructs undergraduate and graduate courses, supervises student teachers, and advises graduate research; Joelle Norris, Co-Founder, Executive and Co-Artistic Director of MidSouth Music Institute, Inc., contributing author of Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success, clinician, adjudicator, director, and presenter across the Southeast; Aaron Lofaro, instructor at the Suzuki Music School in Westport, CT and Greenwich Public Schools in Stamford, CT; Taylor Harding, General Music K-8 teacher in the Rochester City School District, featured All-City conductor, and director of an Orff ensemble, show choir, and three regular choirs - this year, she will direct a district-wide musical; Jeremy Rath, recipient of the RPO Musicians' Award for Outstanding Music Educator and teacher in Kendall, NY; and Matt Wells, Choral Director/Theater Instructor at West Stokes High School, N.C.
At Roberts Wesleyan College, Dr. Cummings conducts the Women’s Choir, oversees Student Teaching, and teaches School Music Methods, Vocal Methods, Music Education Capstone, Intro to Music, and Applied Voice.
Professional Memberships
- Pi Kappa Lambda
- National Association for Music Education