Education & Community

For 18 years, Dr. Hurley served as the director of the Spivey Hall Young Artists preparing young musicians to be active members in the older Spivey choirs.  Under his direction, the Spivey Hall Young Artists performed at the 2018 GMEA In-Service Conference.  Dr. Hurley has served as a guest clinician for honor choirs throughout the southeast for organizations such as GA-ACDA, AL-ACDA, and KY-ACDA. He currently serves as the president of Georgia ACDA and is the artistic director of the annual Spivey Hall Elementary Honor Choir.

Dr. Hurley is the music specialist at Ford Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia where he teaches general music to kindergarten to fifth graders and leads the school chorus and tone-chime ensemble.  He has presented sessions at the Music Educators Association in-service conferences for Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, the Southern Division ACDA Conference, and the ACDA National Children’s and Community Youth Choir Conductor’s Retreat.  Under his direction, the Ford Elementary Chorus performed at the 2015 GMEA In-Service Conference.  Dr. Hurley was honored as Teacher of the Year in 2002, 2016, and was the 2020 Cobb County Elementary General Music Teacher of the Year, and the 2021 GMEA Georgia Music Educator of the Year.  

Dr. Hurley has presented his research at both state and national conventions.  His research has been published in the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, UPDATE: Application of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Research and Issues in Music Education, ChorTeach, and Teaching Music Magazine.  Research interests include music literacy, the child’s singing voice, and expressive choral performance pedagogy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Shorter College, a Master’s of Early Childhood Education from Berry College, and a Doctorate in Music Education from the University of Georgia (GO DAWGS!). Dr. Hurley lives in Marietta, GA with his wife (also a music teacher), 3 kids, and dog.

Mrs. Kinney has served on the faculties of Paine College, Augusta State University, Agnes Scott College, and Georgia Perimeter College as well as performing with the Shorter Chorus, Kennesaw University Wind Ensemble, Kennesaw Women’s Chorus and Chicago Children’s Choir.

Honored in Who’s Who of American Colleges and Universities, Mrs. Kinney was selected for Governor’s Honors, Rome Music Lover’s Award, and Steinway 2008 Educator Award. As an Elizabeth Buday Scholar, Mrs. Kinney received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Shorter College.  She was awarded a Graduate Assistantship as an Eckstein Scholar at Northwestern University where she earned her Master of Music and she studied piano with Laurence Davis and piano pedagogy with Elvina Truman Pearce and Frances Larimer. Since 1994, she has adjudicated for various piano festivals and competitions in Illinois and Georgia. In addition to collaborating with instrumentalists and vocalists, she completed her certification in 2010 to teach K-12.  She has also taught preschool music at The Goddard School and The Sunshine House.  Ms. Kinney has also served as church musician since her teenage years.

Presently, Ms. Kinney is a Collaborative pianist at Reinhardt University, and lives in north Georgia.

Joynita Etheridge, an alumni of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir program, is the interim director of the Spivey Hall Young Artists, the preparatory choir of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir. As an Alpha Chi National College Honor Society member, she obtained two Bachelor of Music degrees in both Music Education and Sacred Music from Reinhardt University, where she studied under the direction of Dr. Martha Shaw. With the Reinhardt University Concert Choir and Chamber Choir, she was able to perform in their debut concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York in 2015 and for High Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, Italy in 2018. Ms. Etheridge went on to continue her educational endeavors and earned a Master of Music in Music Education degree from the University of Florida in 2023.

Ms. Etheridge is the music educator and choir director at Centerville Elementary School in Houston County, Georgia. In 2024, she was awarded as Teacher of the Year and was appointed as President of the Elementary Music Specialist Division in Houston County, Georgia. She has led numerous music education conference re-presentation sessions in Houston County, and is a member of the Georgia Music Educators Association and the American Choral Directors Association. Under Ms. Etheridge’s direction, the Centerville Elementary School chorus has performed at Mercer University and with various choirs spanning throughout the Middle Georgia area.

With experience directing elementary, middle, highschool and adult students, Ms. Etheridge holds the position of Worship Leader and is the Choir Director at Relevant Church in Locust Grove, Georgia. She is an official member of the Maverick City Gospel Choir where she toured and performed under the direction of the nationally renowned gospel choir director, Jason McGee.

A native of Cleveland, OH, Vicorie Brown is currently serving as interim collaborative pianist for the Spivey Hall Young Artists. An accomplished accompanist, he has played for ensembles such as the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Choral Guild, Spivey Hall Honor Choirs and Atlanta’s Orchestra Noir. Vicorie earned his degree in Piano Performance from Valdosta State University under Dr. Lyle Indergaard. After graduation, Vicorie served as the staff accompanist for Valdosta State University’s Musical Theater and Ballet Department. Mr. Brown has served as a choral director at Lovejoy High School and as the piano director at Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts. Additionally, he has been CCPS’s Choral Lead Teacher. Now serving as the Music Instructional Specialist for Clayton County Public School, Brown continues to serve as an accompanist and performs with many groups in the Metro Atlanta area.