Meet Troy Meeker | Artistic Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Troy Meeker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Troy, how do you think about risk?
There are going to be times where you make decisions with an unknown future and you just have to take the chance. For me, going to an arts magnet high school across town where I didn’t know anyone rather than my local high school was a huge risk, but it paid off with incredible learning. Going to college in Arizona rather than returning to Texas was a big risk, but I worked with incredible people, learned my craft, and met the love of my life. I’d say it worked out pretty well for me. For my first teaching job, I accepted a position at an inner-city urban school where many of my colleagues did not think building a choir program would be possible. The school consisted of community that I was not a part of and kids who lived a very different life than mine. But I listened, and I learned and I found ways to connect. Ultimately, it led me to find a passion for working with diverse students from different backgrounds, and the joy of creating a unified world. I think risk takes on a whole new meaning for me after the last few years. I had been a public-school teacher for 16 years — for 8 of those I was also a part-time conductor at PCC — when the artistic director at PCC announced he was retiring. I decided to apply.

After being selected and spending almost a year in the job, in February 2020, our board of directors offered to expand my position to full time. In March 2020, I submitted my letter of resignation at my school, and less than a week later Arizona announced their shutdown for COVID. So here I am, having left my secure position as a public-school teacher to work for a nonprofit during what may become the most difficult time we have ever seen. My fear of failure was through the roof. Was I really ready to run this organization? Would we be able to survive COVID? Over the next two years, every decision I made felt like risk. How would the decisions impact our future? How would the people we serve feel about the decisions that we were making? And even though there was a lot of fear, we decided that we would persevere. We would work together to find ways to continue despite the challenges. We could have closed up shop and waited it out, but we decided to take the risk. Our risk ended up leading to innovation and an opportunity to serve our kids in ways that we had not considered before. We built a trust with our community that we would be there no matter the circumstance and that we would work together to create the best environment for all children to have an incredible experience in music.

Now in my third year as full-time artistic director I can say that the risks have paid off. We’ve had the opportunity to expand our team and expand our program to new parts of the Valley. We are now positioned to serve more kids than we ever have before and that is exciting.

What should our readers know about your business?
When you measure success by how much you have impacted someone’s life rather than simply focusing on a performance, it changes the way that you approach everything and ultimately creates a program that people want to join. One of the best parts about Phoenix Children’s Chorus is that we live our mission, vision, and values. Serving our kids and their families is at the center of every decision we make. It’s never been about doing what’s easiest, but rather, always about doing what is best for them. Our desire to serve a diverse group of children in innovative ways has been our driving force. We do not simply teach singing; we are teaching kids through singing. To be a part of a group working together for the same goal, at the same time, with no one being left out is incredible. Our kids find joy in being part of something that’s bigger than themselves. They find that they have a place and that they are an important part of the ensemble while also understanding that they can’t do it alone.
When we keep our values in mind and we center our decision making around those we serve, we have consistently found success and growth. I think that is what’s most exciting for me as we look to the future. Phoenix Children’s Chorus is positioned for continued expansion, serving more communities than ever before. We just opened our second neighborhood choir and are already working on a third! Our Voices program will continue to work to eliminate barriers like transportation and cost so that our program is accessible to all families who would like to experience the life changing power of music education.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For me, its often about the food. Places like Taco Guild, Angry Crab Shack, Sicilian Butcher, Mochilero Kitchen, Mora Italian, The Macintosh… I could go on.

Visiting Roosevelt row with so many cool music venues and restaurants. I love hanging out on the patio at Arizona Wilderness Brewery.

Do we have to stay in Phoenix? Going to hike in Sedona or brewery hopping in Flagstaff would be a great time too.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Phoenix Children’s Chorus staff the best team I have ever worked with. From those who came before to those with us now, I am surrounded by people who are passionate, dedicated, talented, and hard-working. Each member of our team pushes and challenges me to learn and grow while serving this amazing organization. Truly I would not be the person I am today if I did not have the opportunity to walk alongside these incredible people.

Website: https://www.phoenixchildrenschorus.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenixchildrenschorus/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pcchorus

Other: troymeeker@pcchorus.org

Image Credits
Rachel Huyett