DirectorsDIRECTORS
The Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus is pleased to introduce its directors. These are some of the hardest working members of the chorus, and we are quite proud of them. Please follow the links below to find more information about each one.
DIANE SHERLEY, CERTIFIED DIRECTOR, CO-DIRECTOR
Diane Sherley has been a member of Sweet Adelines International since 1973 and is the only Charter member left in the chorus. For 8 years Diane was a hardworking member of the chorus, holding many of the different offices and positions. In 1980 she and Beth Ripple accepted positions as Co-Directors. They were a dynamic duo until May, 2002, when Ms. Ripple retired to be a very active chorus member. Diane took the director’s helm until Chanda became her co-director in 2004.
Diane serves on the Sweet Adelines International Region 9 Musical Education team and is a recognized Region 9 chorus and quartet coach. (Region 9 is most of the state of Florida.) She sang Baritone and Lead for 19 years in the "Thursday Night Live" quartet, Lead in the "Shenanigans" quartet, and is now singing Baritone in the "SnapShot 2.0" quartet (which her daughter, Chanda, is also a part of). She also loves teaching the art of barbershop singing. Her passion for harmony elevates the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus and encourages every member to strive to be the best they can be.
Diane and her husband, Wally, live in Gainesville, Florida with their dog, Lily. She has been involved with Barbershop most of her life, as both her parents were avid barbershop singers. She sang in the quartet "Rainbow's End" with her sister for 3 years. She has one daughter, one son-in-law, one son, one daughter-in-law, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Diane wants every member of the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus to know that she cares deeply about their individual growth. Her goal is that they feel good about themselves, and their chorus activities. She wants the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus to be the "friendliest chorus" in the North Florida area.
CHANDA MORRIS, CERTIFIED DIRECTOR, CO-DIRECTOR
Since her mother, Diane Sherley, was a founding member of the chorus, Chanda had wanted to join from the time of the group’s inception in 1974. She would tag along with her mother to rehearsals, but had to wait until she was 14 to be a member. Chanda has been in the chorus for 25+ years and grew up in a very musical family. Her parents, grandparents and an aunt were all singers, so it must have been destiny that she ended up sharing the directing duties with her mother, Diane, when co-director Beth Ripple stepped down. Chanda was an assistant director in 2002 and became Diane's co-director in 2004. In 2008 she completed the Region's Director Certification Program to become a certified director.
Chanda says she loves being part of a wonderful family of singers. She has a marvelous husband, two cats and two dogs she calls her children, and is a member of the award-winning quartet "SnapShot 2.0", singing tenor with a voice angels would applaud.
