JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - s4story -- Jacksonville Children's Chorus President and Artistic Director Darren Dailey received the Robert Arleigh White Award for Advocacy on Saturday during the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville's 49th Annual Arts Awards.

Before the ceremony, singers from the Jacksonville Children's Chorus surprised Dailey with two performances in his honor, recognizing his dedication to the organization and his commitment to ensuring children have access to music education opportunities.

Dailey has led the Jacksonville Children's Chorus since 2006 and is proud to be celebrating his 20th anniversary with the organization. Under his leadership, the Chorus has grown into a nationally recognized program serving more than 1,500 community members through five core performance choirs, multiple satellite rehearsal locations and regional outreach initiatives.

A nationally recognized clinician and conductor, Dailey has served as a guest conductor at prestigious venues and events such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center and the ACDA Honor Choir in Seattle. He has presented workshops for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the Organization of Kodály Educators, the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.

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Dailey received the Reinhold Foundation Outstanding Executive Director Award in 2014 and serves on the Jacksonville University Linda Berry Stein College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board. In 2017, Galaxy Music selected him to create a children's choral series, and in 2019 he received the Alumni Merit Award from Westminster Choir College.

Under Dailey's direction, the Jacksonville Children's Chorus won the 2022 American Prize for Choral Performance and received the David C. Brotemarkle Award for its presentation of "Songs of the Sunshine State," with the Florida Historical Society. In 2025, Dailey earned national recognition again with a second-place finish in The American Prize Dale Warland Award for Choral Conducting.

Dailey earned a Bachelor of Music Education with a concentration in voice from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music Education in choral conducting from Appalachian State University's Hayes School of Music.

https://www.jaxchildrenschorus.org/