Our Conductor

Leslie S. Poss, Musical Director and Conductor
Leslie S. Poss, Musical Director and Conductor

Dr. Leslie S. Poss is an active soloist, conductor, and music educator.

As a soloist, she has performed with Alabama state and local orchestras including the Alabama Symphony and the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras. Her solo performances include Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughn Williams’ Hodie, and the premier performance of Gunther Schuller’s The Black Warrior.

Dr. Poss holds a Master’s in Church Music from Southwestern Seminary and a Doctorate in Choral Conducting from the University of Alabama. While at The University of Alabama, Leslie received the Frederick B. Prentice choral scholar award and placed 2nd in the 1994 regional ACDA choral conductor competition. Dr. Poss is a member of Shelton State Community College’s music faculty and is interim music director at University Presbyterian Church. She also serves as Theatre Tuscaloosa’s resident music director, where her efforts garnered her the 2013 Theatre Artist of the Year honors from the Tuscaloosa Arts Council.

This spring Dr. Poss was guest conductor for St. Philip’s Episcopal Church’s (Jackson, MS), 50th anniversary concert at which she conducted Bach’s B minor Mass. Dr. Royce Boyer, in reviewing the concert for the Mississippi AGO, remarked “Guest conductor, Dr. Leslie Poss must not be overlooked. Living and working in Tuscaloosa, she commuted enough times to provide the leadership necessary to bring all of the forces together and make great music in the benevolent acoustics of St. Philip’s church. I was impressed by her understanding of the work, her clear conducting skills and interpretations of tempi, dynamics, and the balancing of the large forces in front of her.”