2023 AWARD RECIPIENT

Vincent Oakes

Growing Community Through Harmony

Vincent Oakes, Artistic Director of the Chattanooga Boys Choir, admits that he came to choral music through what he calls “a rather unconventional path.”

“I was part of a rural community,” he recalls, “and our options [for extracurricular activities] were agriculture, band, or choir. I grew up raising pigs, so in middle school, I thought I’d try something new and chose choir.”

Vic’s choir was diverse, comprising academic high-achievers, athletes, and kids who struggled academically, yet during their time together in rehearsal, they created something beautiful. “We were all working really hard for the betterment of each other and ourselves,” he says. “It was really kind of a utopian idea about what we want the world to be.”

That sense of unity and community inspires his approach to education and performance today, more than twenty years after joining the Chattanooga Boys Choir. When he became its artistic director, he was pursuing a graduate degree in sacred music at Emory University after several years of teaching choral music in Florida’s public schools.

In addition to his duties with the Boys Choir, Vic is the Chair of the Fine Arts Department and Director of Choral Music at the Baylor School. In every area of his professional and artistic life, he is focused on connecting the remarkable power and beauty of choral music to as many young lives as possible—even if the music itself is evolving in new ways. During his twenty years as Artistic Director, the Boys Choir has dramatically expanded its outreach programs, collaborations with local artists, and repertoire.

“We’ve done themed concerts on everything from the music of the Civil War, to music of the British Invasion, to music celebrating peace, to songs of the earth for Earth Day,” he says. He is particularly proud of their collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga in April 2021—at the height of the pandemic—when they were asked to perform at a special virtual event to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

“Our sixth and seventh graders were exploring music, which reflects pain and grief and loss, but also hope for a better day,” he recalls. “We were able to talk through that music and their performance was able to add in a significant way to the experience of others.”

Being a recipient of the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award this year represents a full circle moment for Vic—under his direction, the Boys Choir performed at the very first Arts Leadership Award ceremony, at which Ruth Holmberg herself was honored. “I remember that being an awesome experience [where I could] see generations of people who appreciated and supported what the arts mean to a community.”

Through the relentless creativity and advocacy of arts educators like Vic, generations of Chattanoogans yet to come will know the same kind of appreciation and support.

“Chattanooga is so full of people who give so passionately, and who contribute their talents and their experiences in such different and impactful ways,” he says when asked about what it means for him to receive the Holmberg Award. “It brings me great joy to be able to recognize the work that’s being done with children and for children, because the arts need to have a future.”

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