
Catherine DeLanoy is a musician currently living in the suburbs of Chicago. She has taught music at every grade level in the public school system and is now retired after 23 years at Westmont Junior High School. While there, she taught general music and directed their four choirs which consistently earned top scores, honors and prestigious performances under her direction. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She went on to earn her Masters of Music Education degree from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago.
Ms. DeLanoy enjoyed arranging compositions for her choirs and now continues to have her octavos and resource books published by Hal Leonard, Shawnee Press, Boosey & Hawkes, BriLee Music and Carl Fischer. Her resource books are the best selling WARMING UP WITH ROUNDS and more recently, 8 STEPS TO HARMONIZATION.
Ms. DeLanoy has had the privilege of being the Festival Conductor at many ILMEA district festivals as well as other private festivals. She has taught several graduate MECA courses at VanderCook College of Music, and feels it an honor to be able to teach teachers. She has been sponsored by various music distributors to lead workshops as an elementary and middle school specialist, and is an instructor, clinician, conductor, and adjudicator whenever possible.
Stuff I’ve Done
FESTIVAL CONDUCTOR
VanderCook MS Choir Festival, Treble Choir conductor – September 2011
ILMEA District 1 2013 MS Honor Chorus conductor, Riverside Brookfield HS, November 2013
Seneca Chorus Festival conductor, Seneca MS – Michael Richard Feb 2014
ILMEA District 2 2015 MS Honor Chorus conductor, Augustana College, November 2015
ILMEA District 7 2016 Elementary Festival Chorus conductor, November 2016
ILMEA District 9 2017 MS Honor Chorus conductor, Huntley HS November 2017
Elmhurst District 205 2018 Choral Festival Conductor, Elem, Middle & High School choirs , March 2018
ILMEA District 1 2018 Elementary Festival conductor, VanderCook College of Music, October 2018
District 52 Choir Festival, Elementary Choir Conductor at Maine West HS, January 2019
SPIRITO! Singers Choral Retreat & Singers Workshop w/Christopher Bell, February 2020
READING SESSION CLINICIAN
JW Pepper Billings, Montana July 2015
JW Pepper Fargo, ND July 2015
Music in the Mountains, Shawnee Press, Pennsylvania, August 2015
Stanton Music Grand Forks, ND Aug 2016
DuPage Co Music & Arts Clinic, March 2017
Dupage Co Music & Arts Clinic, March 2019
CLASS INSTRUCTOR
VanderCook weekend class – Building Your Middle School Program, Fall 2011
VanderCook symposium class speaker July 2013
VanderCook weekend class – 8 Steps to Harmonization, Fall 2013
VanderCook weekend class – Building Your Middle School Program, Spring 2015
VanderCook Vocal Mech class speaker, June 2015
VanderCook week long class – Elem/MS Choral Symposium, July 2015
VanderCook class speaker – Elementary Methods (Korbitz), June 2019
VanderCook class – WHERE ARE WE? Teaching Choir Students to Read Music, July 2019
CLINIC SPEAKER
DuPage Co Music & Arts Institute Day speaker March 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019
ILMEC Peoria WJH Swing Choir performance clinic Jan 2011
ACDA Fall Convention, North Central College October 2012
ILMEC Peoria EGM clinic “Journey to Harmony” & The Canonic Canon” Jan 2015
ILMEC Peoria guest conduct “By the Waters”, Jackson Middle School, Jan 2018
ILMEA District #9 Professional Development clinic speaker on “8 Steps to Harmonization”, October 2018
VanderCook College of Music, Professional Development clinic speaker on “WHERE ARE WE? (Helping your students find their way through an octavo)”
and “Beginning Harmony Tips for 2 & 3 Part Singing” September 2019
CHOIR CLINICS
Clinic with choirs at Hillside MS – Louise Kelly, November 2012, Feb 2013
Clinic with choirs at Westmont – Tom Foust 2014
Clinic with McHenry MS choir – Carol Munn 2014, 2015, 2019
Clinic & conduct Hill Middle School, Naperville – Ron Korbitz January 2015
Clinic with choirs at Traughber Jr High, Oswego, Kim Moorman, January 12, 2016
Clinic with Friendship Methodist Church church choir, Pam Stephan at, Feb 17, 2016
Clinic with Thompson JHS, Julie Kleinmaier, February 28, 2017
Clinic with Jackson Middle School, Sarah Giordano March 2017, January 2018
Clinic with Richland Middle School, Crest Hill, Liz Power, February 21, 22, 2018, Oct 2018
Clinic with Prarieview Elementary School, Darien, Carey Crows, October, 2018
COLLEGE MS CHORAL METHODS CLASS SPEAKER
Northern Illinois University symposium – Mary Lynn Doherty’s class, Nov 2012
Concordia University – Charles Brown’s class Feb 2014
St Xavier University – Laura Kempa Bogan’s class, Feb 2015
Concordia University – Charles Brown’s class March 2016
St Xavier University – Laura Kempa Bogan’s class, Oct 2016
VanderCook – Rob Sinclair, Nov 2015, 2017
VanderCook – Ron Korbitz, Children’s Choir methods, June 2019
ADJUDICATING
IGSMA District/State Organizational judging
IGSMA Solo and Ensemble judging
Private district festivals: District #59, South Suburban JHS Chicago Heights, Homewood
VanderCook Choir festival
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT 201: Westmont, Illinois
– WESTMONT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL – Choral director/general music instructor, grades 6-8: 1989 to 2012, retired
– MANNING SCHOOL – General music teacher: 1996-1999
– SOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – General music teacher: 1989-1996
– MILLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – General music teacher: 1989-1996
J. S. MORTON HIGH SCHOOL, EAST: Cicero, Illinois – Choral director: 1976-1978
CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: Dearborn Heights, Michigan – Choral director: 1975-1976