Joe Liles - Co-Director
Joe is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), life member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and listed in the world book of Who's Who in Music. Liles is also a composer and arranger of music for religious and popular groups, as well as barbershop quartet and chorus singers. His catalog contains hundreds of original compositions and arrangements. Notable performances of his work include:
v Let There Be Music! Let There Be Love!, performed at a world festival of music, Bridges of Song, held in the Soviet Union.
v Here Come the Bostons, commissioned for the baseball movie, The Babe, starring John Goodman.
v Teach the Children to Sing, was performed by millions of children throughout America during the World's Largest Concert produced by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC).
v If I Had the Last Dream Left in the World," sung in Good Will Hunting starring Robin Williams.
v Birdwatcher and Grind, as sung by Phish.
v I Didn’t Want To Fall, used in a television special by Showtime Networks, Inc.
He sang lead in Harmony, the 2001 international senior quartet champion. He received an award from the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) for his contributions to Music Education. In 2005 the Barbershop Harmony Society initiated the Joe Liles Lifetime Achievement Directors Award and was honored as one of the first recipients. He has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sweet Adelines International. In July of 2007 Joe was inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society Hall of Fame.
Liles is serving as a judge in the Singing Category for men's chorus and quartet competitions and has taught chorus directing and chorus rehearsal techniques at district and international schools. He has coached quartets and choruses throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Sweden and Russia. He is a master director in the Barbershop Harmony Society, and a certified director in Sweet Adelines International.
A graduate of Baylor University, he has completed 30 hours of doctoral work in conducting at the University of Texas. Liles holds a master of music degree from Southern (Louisville) Seminary, with a double major in voice and in theory and composition.
Joe and his wife Kay, a Sweet Adelines International member and co-director of Spirit of the Lakes Chorus, reside in Kenosha, Wisconsin where they are enjoying singing in a mixed quartet, Aged To Perfection.
Kay Liles - Co-Director
Kay Liles has been involved with barbershop singing for many years with her husband, Joe. She became a member of Sweet Adelines International in 1986, quickly becoming involved in leadership roles. She has served as tenor section leader, costume designer, and on the board of directors for her previous chorus and is a Certified Director in Sweet Adelines.
Kay loves quartetting and sang tenor with Salem Street quartet, bass with Whatever quartet, and baritone in Geneva Sound quartet. She sings with her husband Joe in the mixed quartet Aged To Perfection.
On the regional level of Sweet Adelines, Kay has served on the board of directors and management team of Region 22. She was appointed Membership/Marketing coordinator for the Region by Sweet Adelines International and has also served on the music faculty for regional schools. Most recently Kay served as the Director’s Coordinator for Region 22. She has coached men's and women's choruses and quartets in the United States, Canada, and Russia. Kay has also served at the international level on the board of trustees for the Young Singers Foundation.
Kay's profession as a buyer of ladies and men's apparel made her a natural in the area of costuming, where she has specialized in designing costumes for many years.
Kay, along with her husband, had a desire to start a ladies chorus in Lake Geneva. The result of that effort is the Spirit of the Lakes chorus that now meets in Lake Geneva and represents a larger area of southeast Wisconsin and northwest Illinois. There are no limits to the dreams of Joe and Kay in advancing this wonderful chorus to a higher level of vocal performance in Sweet Adelines.
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