by Tiffany Musick, Lee University
posted July 18, 2008
 Dr. Donald LeRoy |
The seminar focused on piano improvisation for church music. The class, which included an assortment of 13 current students, recent graduates, and teachers, worked to improve its skill playing worship choruses on the piano. The students then took the learned skills back to their home churches in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
"I used a method I have developed for teaching beginning and more advanced students how to improvise for worship services," said Dr. LeRoy. "Most of the students have strong backgrounds in playing the guitar, but their experience with the piano is limited. I provide them with ideas to jump start and further develop their improvisational skills. Their work ethic is wonderful because many of them know they will have to use the improvisational skills in local churches almost immediately."
The music school at SEBIME is one of the only music schools in the region associated with a Pentecostal church.
While teaching at the seminar, Dr. LeRoy worked with SEBIME's Music Chairperson, Annette Castelo, who is also a former adjunct faculty member of the School of Music at Lee, and School President, Cornelio Castelo.
Dr. LeRoy received his B.A from Lee College, his M.M. in Music Theory from Florida State University, and his D.M.A in Sacred Music from The University of Memphis.
Before joining the Lee faculty in 2000, Dr. LeRoy worked in music ministry at churches in Florida and Mississippi. He has also served as a guest lecturer at the Church of God Seminary in Moscow, Russia and an assistant teacher at the European Bible Seminary in Rudersberg, Germany.
Since his arrival at Lee, Dr. LeRoy has taught in the areas of church music, music theory and piano. He also conducted Ladies of Lee and the Chapel Choir in previous years.
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