Leah Cordé: is in her 14th year of teaching and her 6th year as Director of Bands at Kelly Mill Middle School in Blythewood, SC. She began her career in Spartanburg School District 7 teaching at five different elementary schools, Carver Junior High School and assisting at Spartanburg High School. From 2000-2006, she served as Associate Director of Bands at Sumter High School in Sumter, SC. Bands under her direction have consistently earned Superior ratings at state and national festival, including the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational in Chattanooga, TN. On two different occasions, her bands have been featured ensembles at the South Carolina Music Educators In-Service Conference: once in 2003 with Sumter High School and again in 2007 with Kelly Mill Middle School.
Mrs. Cordé graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1998 from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and earned a Master of Music with an emphasis in Conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University in 2011. In 2006, she earned her National Board Certification in Music/Early Adolescence through Early Adulthood. She is sought after as a saxophone clinician and as a guest conductor. Mrs. Cordé has conducted numerous honor groups of both high school and middle school levels from around the state, including several SCBDA Region Bands, as well as in Georgia. She is currently the principal alto saxophonist for the Palmetto Concert Band and has performed twice at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic with this group, once in 1999 and again in 2008. Mrs. Cordé has received the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and currently serves on the Executive Board of the South Carolina Band Directors Association as the All-State Chairperson. Her professional affiliations include the National Band Association, the American School Band Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the South Carolina Music Educators Association, the South Carolina Band Directors Association and Phi Beta Mu.
Mrs. Cordé and her husband Chris reside in Columbia, SC. Chris is the Orchestra Director at Blythewood High School and a violinist with the South Carolina Philharmonic. They have two children, Hannah age 5 and Grant age 4.