Susan Kelly is a graduate of Wilkes University where she gained degrees in Music Education and English Education. While at Wilkes, Susan was president of the Wilkes chapter of MENC and president of the Pennsylvania Division of Collegiate MENC, receiving the Collegiate MENC Professional Achievement Award in 1994. In 1999, Susan completed a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance at Temple University, where she held a teaching assistantship in the Aural Theory Department. During her years at Temple, Susan was also selected to be the conducting apprentice of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. Following graduation, Susan served as a one-year visiting instructor of music at Bloomsburg University.
From 2000-2005 Susan taught chorus and general music to grades 7-12 at Mid Valley Secondary Center. In those five years, the program grew from 25 singers to over 200 singers, encompassing 5 choirs: Junior-High Men, Junior-High Women, High-School Mixed, Varsity Women’s Choir, and Varsity Men’s Choir. In 2005 she was appointed director of choirs at Abington Heights High School, where she directs the Concert Choir, Mixed Ensemble, Women’s Ensemble, and Men’s Ensemble.
Outside of her work at Abington Heights High School, Susan is the Director of Children’s and Youth Programs of The Choral Society of NEPA where she conducted the Kantorei Choir from 1999-2006, which had yearly performances with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. She currently conducts their Cantare Choir (1999-present), which was selected to perform at the 2000 ACDA-PA Summer Conference and at the 2007 PMEA State Conference. Additionally, she is the Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit where she directs the 35-voice Adult Choir and the Teen Choir. She is also a member of the 8-voice professional vocal ensemble The Lyric Consort, which was a featured performer at the 2001 Eastern Division ACDA Conference and has appeared on numerous concert series, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins University, Bucknell University, and Dartmouth College. For many years, Susan was on the faculty of the Wilkes University Community Conservatory as a voice instructor and on the summer faculty of the Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary.
Active in ACDA, Susan served on the ACDA-PA board from 2005-2007 as Chair of Repertoire and Standards for Middle-School and Junior-High School Choirs, during which time she hosted three honor choirs (2005—Brunner, 2006—Leck, 2007—Hirokawa), and provided Junior-High reading sessions for the 2006 and 2007 PMEA State Conferences. Currently, she is serving on the ACDA-PA board as State Secretary.