Allan Ledford, who was born in Chattanooga in 1953, earned his bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Tennessee and went on to teach at several Knoxville area schools, according to his obituary from Lane Funeral Home in Chattanooga. He returned to Chattanooga in the 1980s to help open the performing arts school at Chattanooga High School, a precursor to today’s Center for Creative Arts, where he served as musical theater director for more than two decades and founded the Choo Choo Kids performance ensemble.
Ledford died Tuesday at age 72.
Former Center for Creative Arts Dean of Fine Arts Kathy Allison, who invited Ledford to come back to Chattanooga and serve as one of the founding leaders of the performing arts school, recalled Ledford’s passion for his work. He demanded excellence and had a sincere connection with his students, Allison said by phone.
“He had the ability to just bring out the best in his students, with humor, with guidance, with solid instruction and with love,” she said.
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