Who We Are
The Singing Women of TexasNorth ChapterMegan Smallwood, Director
The North Chapter of Singing Women of Texas, serving the Metroplex and surrounding counties, typically meets the third Saturday or Sunday of each month. Our season runs August through May, although we will accommodate requests for other dates. We typically do not schedule a concert in December. Most months we meet for rehearsal at the church or a location where we are scheduled for a concert. A typical Saturday event schedule is rehearsal at 11:00 a.m. with a short lunch break, rehearsal from 1:30 until 4:30 p.m. and a break for supper—usually provided by the host church or organization scheduling the concert. The evening is concluded with a concert at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. Saturday events are sometimes afternoon concerts at 2:00 or 3:00 pm. Sunday events begin with a shorter afternoon rehearsal, typically at 2:00 p.m., with the same type supper break and a 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. concert. Our venues include churches, retirement centers, prisons, conferences, and community special events. Our concerts are typically around one hour in length and include many types of music: hymn arrangements, gospel, contemporary, spirituals, and patriotic.
Megan Smallwood has served as director for our chapter for the last twenty-five years, after joining SWOT as a charter member and acting as pianist for the early years. After teaching for seventeen years as a high school choral director, she currently works as a staff accompanist for the Grand Prairie Independent School District. Megan also serves North Fort Worth Baptist Church as Pianist/Organist and directs several singing groups, with whom she has traveled to eastern Europe and Australia. Megan acts as liaison for the BGCT to the other seven Singing Women directors.
Deanne Stroope returned as our accompanist last season and continues with us this year, after serving with us in our early years. She is a third grade teacher at Pantego Christian Academy in Arlington and is in frequent demand as an accompanist at area schools and churches. We are grateful to have Deanne as a part of our SWOT family.
Singers join our chapter by recommendation of their minister of music, our director, or by audition.
All new members are asked to vocalize and sing a verse of a hymn or song to allow us to
correctly ascertain range and voice part.