Laurie Lewis-Fritz

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Laurie Lewis-Fritz

Assistant Professor, Music

Arts & Communication
Menard Hall

Laurie Lewis-Fritz is an assistant professor of music, the adjunct and dual credit coordinator for music and theatre as well as the private applied coordinator at LLCC. She directs the LLCC Choir, which was recently selected via audition to perform at the fall conference of the Illinois chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. She also teaches various courses in music, including private applied voice and piano lessons. She is currently the president of the Central Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (CILNATS). Prior to this, she was the lead faculty for vocal performance at Lincoln College, where she oversaw both the Bachelor of Music in vocal performance and the minor in vocal arts after having designed both curricula, directed the three choirs and taught voice and piano lessons and various other courses in music. She was also the director of music at MacMurray College, where she implemented the minor in music, directed the choir and taught voice and piano lessons and various other courses in music and theatre.

Ms. Lewis-Fritz is regularly invited to be a guest conductor for choral ensembles and to present at conferences. Recent engagements include serving as the guest conductor for the high school choir at the All-City Music Festival, serving as the guest conductor for the Vocal Jazz 2 group at the Illinois Music Education Association’s District 4 Jazz Festival and presenting on the topics of empathy, determination and excellence in the choral classroom at various conferences, such as the Illinois Community College Faculty Association Annual Conference for Community College Faculty and the International Music Education Summit Summer Choral Workshop.

Lewis-Fritz has taught, performed and directed music across the U.S. and internationally, including a solo jazz piano/vocal recital in Skopje, Macedonia; choral performances in China, as a guest operatic soloist with the Sangamon Valley Civic Orchestra; audition techniques workshops in Lansing, Michigan and Lincoln, Illinois; and music directing at such theatres as the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (Clinton, Iowa), the Bigfork Summer Playhouse (Bigfork, Montana), Ozark Actors Theatre (Rolla, Missouri), and the McLeod Summer Playhouse (Carbondale, Illinois). She was recognized by the River Cities’ Reader with a “Tony Award” for her music direction of “The Who’s Tommy” at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre. Her vocal arrangements have been performed across the Midwest. She also performs locally, most recently as the principal percussionist and pianist with the University of Illinois Springfield Symphony Orchestra (formerly the Illinois Symphony Civic Orchestra), as a vocalist and pianist at various charitable events, and with the choirs she has directed at various venues across the state. She also adjudicates area solo and ensemble contests and music competitions. She was nominated for the 2014 John A. Logan College Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Lewis-Fritz holds a Master of Music in opera/music theater with an emphasis on music directing and conducting and a bachelor’s degree in music, both from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She is a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) and the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM).