Kristin Claiborne

Kristin Claiborne, a Valparaiso, Indiana native, is in her tenth year as choral director at Blythewood High School in Blythewood, South Carolina. She directs four levels of choir & the acaBengals, premier pop/jazz a cappella group, while also serving as the lead teacher for secondary choral directors in Richland School District Two. Each year, her choirs consistently earn a superior with distinction rating in choral performance assessments, & her students earn spots in the South Carolina All-State Choir & ACDA state, regional, & national honor choirs. Her choirs have traveled both domestically & internationally, including tours in Italy, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, & Orlando. In 2019, the BHS Concert Choir was selected to perform at the 2019 South Carolina Music Educators Conference (SCMEA). In 2022, Ms. Claiborne presented a session entitled “Fear Not the Unknown: Pop & All That Jazz” at the SCMEA conference, where the acaBengals served as a demonstration ensemble.

Ms. Claiborne has served as a guest clinician in various secondary settings, including districts throughout South Carolina & in the midwest. She has also served as a guest lecturer for music education courses at the University of South Carolina. Ms. Claiborne has a passion for supervising and mentoring preservice & induction level teachers. In July 2019, Ms. Claiborne had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan, where she toured & taught as a faculty member for the “Voice of the Light” music workshops. She has had other opportunities to teach overseas, including her work as a guest faculty member with the International Partnership for Choral Music Education (ICPME), where she assisted in the creation & facilitation of workshops in music literacy, conducting, & vocal pedagogy in South Africa.

As a performer, Ms. Claiborne is a member of Limited Time Only, a semi-professional, Columbia-based chamber choir. In April 2019, she performed as the featured soprano soloist at Lincoln Center in New York City for Will Todd’s world-renowned jazz mass, “Mass in Blue.” She can often be found performing jazz & broadway standards with friends around the Columbia area.

Ms. Claiborne holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with an Emphasis in Choral Studies and a Master of Educational Administration, both from the University of South Carolina. She is currently in the dissertation writing process as a candidate for an education doctorate in teacher leadership from Concordia University Chicago. Ms. Claiborne is heavily involved with the American Choral Directors Association, having served on the past four Southern Region conference committees. She has also previously served as the membership chair for the Southern Region ACDA.

Aside from choral directing & performing, Ms. Claiborne currently serves as an assistant coach for the Blythewood High School boys basketball program. As an intern head coach during the 2020-2021 season, she became the first female head coach of a boys program in South Carolina basketball history. She was also named the 2021 Region 4-5A Co-Coach of the Year. Lastly, Ms. Claiborne is a proud, active member of the Richland County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.