Directors and Staff
Brenda Dent-Gregory
Brenda Gregory is currently in her 21st year as Director of Choirs and Fine Arts Department Chair at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro. Mrs. Gregory is a native of Columbia, TN, where she was a 1975 graduate of Columbia Central High School. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees from Middle Tennessee State University.
Mrs. Gregory began her teaching career in 1982, serving as Assistant Band Director/Choral Director at Shelbyville Central High School and 6-8 General Music Specialist at Harris Middle School. In 1984, she moved to Murfreesboro Oakland High School, where she taught for 19 years as Director of Choirs and Associate Band Director. Her choirs at Oakland High consistently received superior ratings at regional choral festivals and traveled and performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, singing at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in NYC, as well as Ely Cathedral outside London.
In 2003, Mrs. Gregory accepted the position of Director of Choirs at Siegel High School, where she initiated the choral program, currently numbering 120 students in 4 choirs. In 2006, Mrs. Gregory was named Siegel High School’s “Teacher of the Year” and was awarded Rutherford County High School Building Level “Teacher of the Year” honors that same year. In 2010, The Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts named Mrs. Gregory the “Tennessee Music Teacher of the Year” and in 2017, she received the “Carol Crittenden Arts Advocate of the Year Award” from the Nashville Singers. Mrs. Gregory has served on the faculty of the Governor’s School for the Arts and has been recognized 10 times by the school as an Outstanding Teacher of the Arts. She has been included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and was recognized in 2007 as an Outstanding Young Woman of America. Brenda was recognized for her work in musical theatre by receiving the First Night Star Award in 2015. She has served as a guest conductor and clinician for regional, middle, and high school honor choirs. Her professional memberships include the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association (where she serves on the Board), the Tennessee Music Education Association, and the National Association for Music Education. Mrs. Gregory is active with the Country Music Association’s educational program, having been a part of their music education advocacy videos, and has served as an instructor in the CMA Summer Music Camp.
Mrs. Gregory resides in Murfreesboro with her husband Philip, band director at Providence Christian Academy, and their rescue boxer/pit mix, Roxy.
Dr. Gerald Patton
Dr. Gerald Patton is a native of Lebanon, TN but currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN. Currently, he serves as both the Assistant Choral Director at Siegel High School and the President of the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association which serves both public and private elementary, middle school, high school, and collegiate music educators. Before starting at Siegel High School in the fall of 2017, Dr. Patton was the founding choral director at Blackman High School (2000-2017). Dr. Patton earned his B. Mus. degree (1998) from Middle Tennessee State University majoring in general/vocal music education. He received his M. Mus. degree (2004) with specialization in choral conducting from Austin Peay State University located in Clarksville, TN. Finally, Dr. Patton earned his Ed. S. (July 2020) and Ed. D. (May 2021) degrees in administration and supervision from Carson-Newman University located in Jefferson City, TN.
A twenty-six year veteran music educator, Dr. Patton began his teaching career in 1998 as the music specialist at Walter Hill Elementary School located in Murfreesboro, where he taught kindergarten through fifth-grade general music and chorus. In 2000 Dr. Patton accepted the position at Blackman High School where he taught chorus, general music, and music theory. While at Blackman, Dr. Patton’s choirs earned superior performance and sight-reading ratings at the annual Middle Tennessee Vocal Association Choral Adjudication Festival. During the spring of 2017, the Blackman High School Select Chorus earned a superior performance rating at the state-level choral adjudication festival. His choirs have traveled to and performed in Washington D.C., Orlando, Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, and Branson, MO. Other noted performing engagements included the Middle Tennessee Electric Corporation’s Annual Conference, the Tennessee Veterans Home, the Nissan Corp Veterans Day Celebration, and the High Schools That Work National Conference.
In 2016 Dr. Patton was appointed as the State Choral Chair for the Tennessee Music Educators Association, and he holds memberships and chairperson positions with the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association, the Tennessee Music Educators Association, and the National Association for Music Education. In 2006 Dr. Patton founded and facilitated the annual Rutherford County High School Choral Festival (2006-2016) now called Rutherford All-County Chorus. Beginning in 2006, Dr. Patton also serves as the Summer Arts Academy Director for the Wilson County Civic League located in Lebanon, TN. With this program, he works with both at-risk and low-income students in the Lebanon community.
Dr. Patton has presented professional development workshops and served on curriculum committees in the Rutherford County Schools District. He has a strong interest in student motivation and completed his dissertation entitled “Music Educators’ Perceptions of Motivational Strategies in the Choral Classroom” in the Spring of 2021.
Not only is Dr. Patton a noted music educator, but he has an extensive background in church music. He has served as the music director for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for 17 years. During his tenure at the Lebanon CP Church, the Sanctuary Choir presented annual Christmas and Easter programs. Additionally, the Sanctuary Choir was a featured group at the TN State / Wilson County Fair for several years.
