About our Artistic Director

Kevin L. Coker is the Artistic Director of Chorus Kansas City and Director of Choirs at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri. The Rockhurst choral program serves 200 students across five choral groups.

Dr. Coker has over 20 years of teaching experience and has taught at the elementary, middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. Most recently, Dr. Coker served as the Conductor of the Johnson County Chorus. Previously, he was the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Central Arkansas from 2020-2022. Choirs under his direction have performed at the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival (2013), the Kansas Music Educators State Conference (2014), the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association Regional Conference (2016), the American Music Festival in Rome and Florence, Italy (2016), and the Intercollegiate Men’s Chorus National Seminar in Washington, D.C. (2018). In addition to conference performances, in 2022, Dr. Coker was awarded The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.

Dr. Coker has presented research at state conferences in Arkansas, Kansas, Ohio, and Kentucky, Regional ACDA conferences, and the NAfME National Conference. He has been published in the International Choral Bulletin, Teaching Music, Research Perspectives in Music Education, and Florida Music Director. In addition to his scholarly presentation and publication work, Dr. Coker is committed to the performance of new music and has commissioned works from numerous composers including Sydney Guillaume, Z. Randall Stroope, Josh Shank, Connor Koppin, and Samuel K. Sweet.

Dr. Coker holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Belmont University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Florida State University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Coker has studied conducting with Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, André Thomas, and Deen Entsminger.

He currently lives in Leawood, Kansas with his beautiful wife Becky, their four children, Emma, Anna, Brady, and Molly, and their golden retriever Rudy.

About our Collaborative Pianist

Kym Gibbs is a professional accompanist and collaborative pianist with decades of experience in the choral and theatrical arts. Following a piano scholarship at Kansas State University and a summer residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, Kym spent the majority of her career as the Vocal Music Accompanist at Spring Hill High School before making the change to collaborate with Dr. Kevin Coker at Rockhurst High School, where she has been since 2022.

Beyond the school day, Kym is a highly sought-after collaborator in the Kansas City arts community, and plays for numerous community theaters, choral groups, and schools in the Kansas City metro area. Currently, she accompanies musicals in the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley school districts, serves as accompanist for CarmenKC, an all-women community choir, and for StageWorx, a summer theater program for all ages.

Kym’s philosophy centers on Collaborative Artistry and Adaptive Leadership. Her extensive experiences over the years have allowed her to be flexible in her approach while providing a stable foundation in her rehearsals. Her time spent in the school setting has been memorable and she continues to learn every day from her students and hopes to keep making a difference in the classroom for many more years.

When not rehearsing somewhere, Kym enjoys spending time with her husband, Jerry, “getting some wind therapy”, or just playing with their two dogs, Kai and Whiskey.