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Evanston resident leads GBN choirs
Updated: December 12, 2012 9:12AM
An Evanston resident of 15 years, Chad Davidson, instructional supervisor for fine arts at Glenbrook North High School, finds his work commute a capsule. There he can listen to his favorite music or recordings by the choirs he directs. He and his wife Laurie are the parents of Jack, 8, a third-grader at Lincolnwood Elementary School.
Q. Chad, what makes Evanston family friendly?
A. Evanston is a great place to live because it combines the best of the suburbs and the city. There are great shops and restaurants, cultural events, and a vibrant downtown.
Q. Where did you grow up?
A. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, in Hyde Park. The similarities between Hyde Park and Evanston are many, and I’m sure that is a big part of the reason that I like it so much in Evanston.
Q. Talk about your position at GBN.
A. I began my career at GBN as the choir director. I taught seven choirs, was the vocal director for our variety show, and was the vocal director for our district musical. Now, I am the instructional supervisor for fine arts. This means that I oversee the areas of music, visual art, theatre, and broadcasting. In addition, I still teach four choirs and continue to serve as the music director for our musicals. Our past two productions have been Rent and The Phantom of the Opera.
Q. What are the choirs you direct?
A. I teach two choirs during the school day, and then I have two extra-curricular ensembles, GBN Express and The Men of GBN. Express is a mixed ensemble of 10th- through 12th-graders who perform a variety of music ranging from classical to pop, Broadway to holiday. Our busiest season of the year is during the winter holidays. We’ll perform 17 concerts during the month of December. The Men of GBN is a group of men in the Northbrook community ... some dads, alums, friends and neighbors. We rehearse once a week at GBN, and I’m sure that we have more fun than any other group in our school.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. I am very active in running and triathlon. I’ve run the Chicago Marathon for the past three years (the last two as a member of the Lurie Children’s Hospital Marathon Team) and have competed in over 20 triathlons. I am really excited to compete in my first Ironman Triathlon next September in Madison, Wis.
Q. Talk about your family.
A. My wife Laurie is a fundraiser for Northwestern University. We met (don’t ask how long ago) when we were both in a production with the Light Opera Works company. I always say that, although I’m a professional musician, I’m still only the second best singer in my house.
Q. So where did you go to school?
A. I began my undergraduate education at Northwestern, but I transferred after my sophomore year to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I earned my Bachelor of music degree in music education. I also have a master’s degree in choral conducting from The Ohio State University.
Q. What’s on your iPod?
A. My iPod playlist is definitely eclectic. My favorite playlist — creatively titled “Stuff I Like — has everything on it from Taylor Swift to Kanye West, and almost everything in between. And, as a child of the 1980s, I have to admit that more than a few songs from that decade still get a lot of play.
