Meet Cathy Britton
Cathleen Britton grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and graduated from Central High School in 1970. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Music Education from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
She married Bill Britton in 1973. They have three children—and six grandchildren.
Cathy taught music for 38 years, working with singers at every level. She spent 34 of those years in Sioux Falls, including 25 years at the high school level: 12 years at Washington High School and 13 years at Bishop O’Gorman High School.
She was deeply involved in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Nationally, she served as On-Site Chair in Salt Lake City for the High School Honor Choir. In the Midwest Region she was Show Choir Repertory and Standards Chair for six years, handled Region Conference registration in 1994, and served as Region Conference Honor Choir Chair in 2016. At the state level she was State President, Newsletter Editor, and a four-time State Conference Chair.
Her honors include the South Dakota ACDA Encore Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Through the United Federation of National High Schools she received the South Dakota, Regional, and National Outstanding Music Educator Citations. The National Citation is not an annual award; recipients must first earn the state and regional citations and then pass a thorough vetting process. Since the award’s inception around 1964, only about 30 music educators have received it. Cathy was also inducted into the Aberdeen Central High School Hall of Fame in 2012 and the University of South Dakota Fine Arts Hall of Fame in 2023.
She retired in 2014. In retirement she directed the spring musical at the University of Sioux Falls for five years and still judges contests from time to time. She travels extensively, spends time with her children and grandchildren, and enjoys knitting, crocheting, making photo albums, and organizing projects.
She also directed choir on six bi-annual summer trips to Europe with the Midwest Ambassadors of Music Tour and served as a church choir director in Sioux Falls for 15 years.
