Our story
The founding members later met Miriam and Lowell Bylar at St. Luke’s Methodist Church, where Miriam herself was the staff accompanist, and Lowell, the choir director.
The first official Jackson Choral Society concert was held on November 26, 1961 in the War Memorial Building in Jackson, MS. The well attended concert featured Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise. Today, the Jackson Choral Society is a non-profit, non-auditioned organization of volunteer professional musicians, music lovers, and anyone else who enjoys singing.
The Jackson Choral Society has served the metropolitan Jackson area for the last sixty years with over 106 concerts, providing imaginative programs of quality musical literature. The Jackson Choral Society has collaborated with several music groups in Jackson, including the Mississippi Chorus, Mississippi Opera and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. The Jackson Choral Society has also toured Europe on three occasions.
Meet The Director
Artistic Director
Dr. Edward Dacus
A native of Canton, Edward Dacus holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s from the University of Mississippi, and a doctorate from Louisiana State University. He and Viola married at St. Peter’s in Oxford in 1985, and the highlights of their marriage are their children Emily Katherine and Jonathan. He taught at Oklahoma State University for six years before joining the faculty at Mississippi College in 1999, where he taught classes in music history and piano technology.
Edward has served in numerous churches in a wide array of denominations for the past forty-seven years. Introduction to the Episcopal church while in undergraduate school resulted in a lifelong passion for music’s significant role in the liturgy and spiritual development.
He also enjoys gathering random facts about passenger trains in this country.
