Professor Emerita Fran Page Receives Raleigh Youth Choir Service Award

Meredith College Professor Emerita Fran Page received the Raleigh Youth Choir’s Bob Goodale Noteworthy Service Award in recognition of her work as a music educator and visionary creator of the Capital City Girls Choir. 

The award was presented during the annual Raleigh Youth Choir Gala, which took place on Friday, April 11, at the MacGregor Downs Country Club. 

Erin Cleghorn, Meredith’s director of fundraising research, is a member of the Raleigh Youth Choir board.

“As a board member, I purchased a table and invited Meredith friends who I know love music and support the arts in Raleigh,” Cleghorn said. “It was a coincidence that we were also honoring Dr. Page.” 

Meredith alumnae and friends at Cleghorn’s table included: Jeanine Wagoner, Margaret Simmons, Claire Sullivan Slaughter, Louise Sullivan Peters, Penny Gallins, Sandra McClain Buller, Hilary Allen, and Astra Ball. 

Jeremy Tucker, Artistic Director of the RYC, said of Page: “She spent 36 years pouring her heart into one institution, where she wore many hats: head of the Department of Music, director of choral activities, coordinator of music education. But more than any title, she’s been a teacher of teachers. She’s the reason so many stepped into classrooms believing in the power of music, armed with not just knowledge, but conviction.”

This was the inaugural Bob Goodale Service Award. Goodale was a beloved RYC volunteer and Board member who died in 2024.

–Article written with contributions from Erin Cleghorn