Kathy Thames of Palmetto Christian Academy

As director of the middle and high school choirs, Kathy Thames leads Palmetto Christian Academy’s music program. When she first started at the school in 2003, there wasn’t yet a high school, so she helped build the program from the ground up.

A longtime lover of music, Thames received her bachelor’s degree in music education from East Carolina University and began teaching in 1993. Since then, she has grown PCA’s program from a handful of students to several annual performances, including a Coffeehouse performance in the fall, a Christmas concert and the Palmetto Show in the spring. In March, she also took the high school choir to Disney World to work with a vocal coach and clinician. To give back to the community, her choirs visit local retirement homes to sing to residents.

“You’d think these students would be spread thin with all they do, but they give 100% to every performance,” said Thames, who noted what she loves most about music is that it’s “nondiscriminatory.”

“Music unites people. You can bring all these types of people and personalities together and create something beautiful together,” Thames said. “I love that about the arts. PCA values the beauty in all of God’s creation, and we strive to represent that in every subject we teach. It is such a privilege to be a part of something so beautiful at PCA for so many years.”

By Teri Errico Griffis