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2026 ACDA Southwestern Region Conference March 4-7, 2026 Albuquerque, New Mexico

Performing Choirs
P er f orming C hoirs

First Colony Middle School Fort Worth Chorale

Bobcat Select Tenor Bass

The First Colony MS Bobcat Select Tenor Bass Choir The Fort Worth Chorale was founded in 1962 as
comprises about thirty-five to forty auditioned seventh- Schola Cantorum and is the oldest independently op-
and eighth-grade tenor/bass singers, all of whom must erated, auditioned, volunteer adult civic choir in Texas.
have at least one year of experience in Bobcat Choir Over its sixty-three-year history, FWC has performed
before auditioning. The singers in this choir come from across North Texas, the United States, and Europe, in-
a variety of musical backgrounds, but most only expe- cluding at the Kennedy Center, Robert Shaw’s Festival
rience music making in public school. First Colony MS of the Masses, and festivals in Germany. Members in-
(Fort Bend ISD) is located in Sugar Land, TX, which is clude professionals from many fields, with many choral
a suburb of Houston known for its diverse community. directors and voice teachers. FWC is deeply connect-
FCMS is a prime example of this, with on average, thir- ed to FW through concerts and partnerships with the
teen different languages spoken at home in the Select Fort Worth Symphony, Texas Ballet Theatre, and local
Tenor Bass Choir alone. There is no clear majority of schools. In 2021 it launched the Schola Cantorum Proj-
any demographic (highest is 40% Asian) at FCMS. ect, commissioning composers from underrepresented
backgrounds to provide free music to Title I schools.
Tommie Trinh is in his ninth year as head
director at First Colony Middle School. Karen Kenaston-French has been artistic
Trinh is a native Houstonian and is a director and conductor of the Fort Worth
first-generation Vietnamese American. Chorale since 2019, elevating its reputa-
He began singing in choirs in fifth grade tion with imaginative programming and
and thanks the public school system for his musical community engagement. She has led
knowledge. He has sung twice at TMEA: in 2011 as a performances of classical masterworks, contemporary
high school senior with Cypress Woods HS under Mar- works, and popular pieces, including Dan Forrest’s
sha Robinson and Jason Womack, and in 2013 with the Three Nocturnes, Bob Chilcott’s Circlesong, and Martín
University of Houston Concert Chorale under Betsy Palmeri’s Misatango. Major works include Mozart’s
Weber. In 2015 he performed in the European Choir Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Jenkins’s Te Deum. Ke-
Games in Magdeburg, Germany, with the UH Concert naston-French champions new music and education,
Chorale. In 2024 he directed the FCMS Varsity Treble commissioning works and integrating student choirs.
Choir at TMEA. Also professor and director of choral activities at UT
Arlington, she has led the A Cappella Choir to regional
and national acclaim.

150 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2026 Volume 66 Number 5