Debra Spurgeon, D.M.A.

Dr. Debra Spurgeon is Associate Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Mississippi where she conducts the Women’s Glee and Chamber Singers and teaches choral methods and conducting. She has conducted high school and collegiate honor choirs in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. Prior to moving to Ole Miss, Dr. Spurgeon taught at Southwestern Oklahoma State University for eighteen years and in 1999 was named Oklahoma Choral Directors Association's Director of Distinction.

She has been actively involved in leadership roles in the American Choral Directors Association, serving as president of the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association and president-elect of the Southwestern Division of ACDA. She is currently the Women's R and S on the executive board of Mississippi Choral Directors.

Dr. Spurgeon’s areas of research include voice building in the choral rehearsal and French melodiés. Her articles have appeared in the Choral Journal, Teaching Music, The Journal of Singing, and The Journal of Music Teacher Education. Her most recent publication is an edition of a choral work by the French composer Reynaldo Hahn entitled "Le Jour," published by Alliance Music Corporation.

Dr. Spurgeon holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Oklahoma where she was a recipient of the Benton Schmidt Voice Award; the Master of Music Education from the University of Arkansas; and the Bachelor of Music Education from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

An active soprano soloist, her choral/orchestral solo work includes the Mozart Requiem, Haydn Heiligmesse, Fauré Requiem, Honneger King David, Rutter Requiem, Monteverdi Vespers, Handel’s Messiah, and the Queen in the Play of Daniel. In 2003, she sang the role of the Queen of the Night in the Ole Miss production of The Magic Flute.