William Evans (Founding Artistic Director & Conductor) founded Sherwood Community Chamber Choir in 2014. In 2016, he retired from Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, where he taught choral music for 37 years. Bill was the Producer and Musical Director for Sherwood High School’s original musical production, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival.” He received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Clarion University in Pennsylvania and a Master of Music in Voice from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

In both the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival” shows and the choirs, Bill worked toward the equitable participation of all students at Sherwood High School and grew the gender diversity in the music program by successfully increasing male participation.

As the director of the Chamber Singers, he provided students with opportunities to grow their understanding of diverse languages and cultures by selecting music that celebrated the diversity of music in the world. He held students to high expectations, often singing works that were typically sung at the collegiate level. He partnered with local composers to commission music that reflected the experiences of Montgomery County and Maryland.

Bill is now Lecturer and Director of the Music Technology Lab in the School of Music at the University of Maryland - College Park, where he teaches music composition to non-majors and music technology. As a singer Bill has appeared in various roles in opera, musical comedy, and concert performances with the Trinity Players, Wolf Trap Summer Opera, Cedar Lane Stage, Pennsylvania Opera Festival, Prince George’s Civic Opera, Laurel Oratorio Society and the Annapolis Chorale.

Building community in music.

The Sherwood Community Chamber Choir was formed in September 2014 and is composed of both Sherwood High School Music Department Alumni and community members from the greater Olney-Sandy Spring Area. The choir currently performs two concerts a year and rehearses every week. The group performs classical and traditional a cappella choral music. The organization is supported by grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.

In 2022, the organization launched two additional choirs, the Sherwood Community Youth Choir and the Sherwood Community Chamber Ensemble. SCYC serves children in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. In its debut semester, it had 32 members. In fall 2024, the youth choir programming will expand to serve 7th and 8th graders. SCCE consists of 12 members of the Community Choir and focuses on a small ensemble choral music repertoire.