Allan Ledford leads performers in rehearsal for the Musical Theatre Showcase at Chattanooga School for the Performing Arts on Thursday afternoon.Allan Ledford has been involved in the arts in Chattanooga for decades. He recently retired from the Hamilton County school system, where for the last 25 years, he has taught musical theater and the choral arts at first the School for the Performing Arts and later the Center for the Creative Arts.
The former was initially a magnate program within City High School, but when the city and county merged the school systems into one, CCA was born. Middle and high school students there are selected through an audition process and once selected, they choose a major. The school offers core programs in theater, dance, music, visual arts and the literary arts.
Ledford has also directed a number of shows at a variety of theaters and founded the Choo Choo Kids, a select group of CCA musical theater students who make up a touring musical theater troupe.
Q: I know you are retired, but you are still active in the arts, right?
A: Yes. I’m the music director at Signal Crest United Methodist and I direct at Signal Mountain Playhouse. I’m involved with the theater program at Chattanooga State. I also created Lake Winnepespookah (a Halloween program). I work with the students who provide the entertainment – not the regular concerts, but the other entertainment there – during the season.