Mr. Ladell Fortune is currently in his 22nd year of teaching music in the state of Georgia. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Georgia Southern University (2002) and a Master’s in Music Education from Boston University (2008).

Mr. Ladell Fortune has been the choir director at Flat Rock Middle School since 2018. All choirs under his direction have consistently received Superior Ratings in Performance and Sight Reading at Large Group Performance Evaluations (LGPE). His students are active participants in the District 6 Honor Chorus and in the Georgia All-State Chorus each year. In 2023, The Flat Rock Middle School Chorus was one of 5 middle schools choirs in the state of Georgia selected to perform at the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference in Athens. GA. During the 2022-2023 school year, The Flat Rock Middle School singers received two proclamations. One from Fayette County and one from The Georgia State Senate where they were afforded the opportunity to meet Governor Brian Kemp.  In the fall of 2023, The Flat Rock Middle School singers were selected to perform at the Georgia American Choral Directors Conference at Kennesaw State University. 

Previously, Mr. Fortune taught in both Richmond (Augusta, GA) and Henry County (Hampton, GA) School Districts. His choirs have placed first and have won Grand Champion awards in the Southern Star Music Festival, the OrlandoFest Music Festival and Music in Parks Music Festival.

Mr. Ladell Fortune was named the 2012 Richmond County Teacher of the Year. He has also received the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching. In 2021, he received the Going Above and Beyond award from the Fayette County School System. He is currently serving his second term as the District 6 Choral Chair for GMEA. He is the Fine Arts Department Chair and a member of the Leadership Team at Flat Rock Middle School. He co-sponsors the Drama Club and serves as the musical director for the Flat Rock Middle School musical productions. He is a choral adjudicator for Georgia Music Educators Association. He has served and continues to serve as a conductor for many honor choirs across the southern region of the United States. 

Mr. Fortune performed at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2022 with the Wendall P. Whalum Community Chorus where he is currently the assistant director.  In August of 2022, Mr. Fortune received rave reviews for his portrayal of the character  “Jimmy Early” in the broadway musical “Dreamgirls” produced by the Front Porch Players.

Ladell is actively involved in his church The Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Atlanta, GA as an ordained minister and on the leadership team of the music department. He has previously served as the Minister of Music for the Cathedral of Faith.  He is also currently one of two Vice Presidents for the North Central GA Music Department. He has served on the Executive Staff for the International Music Department for COGIC for over 10 years serving as the assistant director of the COGIC Chorale and on the Quorum of Choir Directors.  He is now the current director of the COGIC Chorale. 

Adrian J. Ford is a K-12 music teacher, music performance researcher, music accompanist, composer, and conductor. He has served as a string and choral educational professional for the past ten years. He has served as an affiliate accompanist for WPWCC for the past 17 seasons, a semi-professional concert pianist, and an accompanist for various artists in and around the Atlanta area. He is the former director of strings studies at Adamson Middle School. He is currently the band director at Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Middle School in the Atlanta Public Schools system.  

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music with concentrations in Choral Conducting and Commercial Composition from Morris Brown College in 2014. He earned a Master of Arts Degree with a concentration in Music Education from Liberty University in 2016.  He earned a Doctor of Education degree with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction in 2021. 

Dr. Ford has served as a music clinician, program developer, and efficiency expert in the areas of music administration and worship arts for the states of Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. Dr. Ford holds professional membership affiliation with the Atlanta Guild of Organists, Metropolitan Atlanta Musician's Association, PAGE, Gospel Music Workshop of America, and the Georgia Music Educators Association. Dr. Ford is currently a researcher in the areas of Music Performance and Special Learning Disorders for students with learning disabilities in inclusive public education classroom settings.  

Timothy Shepard has been the Director of Music and Organist at Brevard First United Methodist Church since 2008.  He has been attending Music Workshops at Christmount even longer, as both handbell clinician and accompanist.   

He received a BM at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where he studied sacred music practices, organ and choral conducting. He received a Masters of Sacred Music in Choral Conducting from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He has been the Director of Music at churches in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina.  

Tim is a life long handbell ringer, composer and arranger of handbell music, and a director and clinician working with fellow handbell lovers.  He presently lives in Mills River with his partner, Dustin, and enjoys hiking the rich trails of WNC as often as he can.