Teryle Watson

Voice, Piano, Chorus, Musical Theater

Teryle Thomas Watson was born in Brooklyn,New York .As the only child of Virgil and Lauramae Thomas,  music became central to her life at an early age.She began her formal training at the Juilliard School of Music at age five.The preparatory department of Juilliard provided her with training in piano,voice and music theory .She is also an alumna of the High School of Music and Art in New York City where she majored in violincello.In 1967,Teryle adopted Rochester,New York as her new home upon her acceptance at the Eastman School of Music.Immediately upon her graduation from Eastman she traveled to the United Kingdom where she concertized as a cellist,singer and pianist while doing coursework at the Royal College of Music.
In her return to Rochester in January of 1975 she began what was to be a thirty one year career as a music teacher with the Rochester City School District.She has been honored to serve the children and families of schools 36,33,58,39,West High School,Marshall High School,Benjamin Franklin High School,East High School and the School of the Arts.During this period she was also conductor of the Inter-High School Choir for the RCSD.Her passion for large choral works led her to teach and conduct many of the great masterpieces of the genre with her students.This legacy includes Elijah,the Magnificat of J.S.Bach,the Requiem Masses of Rutter,Faure and Mozart,the Gloria settings of Poulenc and Vivaldi,the Peaceable Kingdom of Randall Thompson,and Messiah in its entirety by G.F.Handel.Her love of Musical Theatre has been witnessed in over fifty productions she has directed in this area.Two musicals,Big River and Ragtime,both School of the Arts productions won the Best Musical Award given by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League.
Teryle has also been active in the Gateways Music Festival.She has played cello numerous times in the festival orchestra and has served as chorus master/conductor for performances of the Lord Nelson Mass and the Choral Finale of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony.
For twelve years she taught voice at the Rochester Association of the Performing Arts.Her students have been known for their outstanding work at many schools and conservatories including,the Eastman School of Music,Syracuse University,Ithaca College,Manhattanville College,Suny Purchase,Geneseo,Potsdam and Fredonia,Indiana University ,Boston Conservatory of Music,New England Conservatory of Music,Westminster Choir College,Lincoln University,Heidleberg College,Central State University,and Oklahoma State College.
Her love of music found its first foundation in the Church while she was a young child.This journey would lead her to become a Sister of Saint Joseph of Rochester.Liturgical music and Pastoral Ministry have remained a mainstay of her life as she has held music ministry positions at the former St. Augustines Church,Immaculate Conception Church,Our Lady of Victory Church, the former St. Phillip Neri Church and Memorial AME Zion Church.She has served on the Womens Commission ,the Music Commission and the Liturgy Commission of the Diocese of Rochester.
Teryle is also the former conductor of the Rochester Peace Child Chorus and a singer with the Opera Theatre of Rochester.