Vernae Buck, Co-Founder and Former Executive Director
Vernae Buck received a B.A. in music from Idaho State University in 1997. While studying music at ISU, she traveled to England, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria as a member of the ISU Chamber Choir.
She received a M.M. in vocal performance at the University of Idaho in 2005 where she taught private voice and class voice as a graduate student. She has sung in several solo recitals and has performed with the Idaho Falls Opera Theatre. She has also worked as an adjunct faculty member in the ISU music department teaching Introduction to Music.
Vernae began teaching Music Appreciation at the College of Western Idaho in January 2009. She also conducted a choir for 1½ years at CWI. On August 5, 2020, she passed away following a 5-year battle with cancer.
She is the co-founder and organizer of the Idaho International Choral Festival that takes place in Pocatello, Idaho every three years, and served as the original executive director for the festival. Her responsibilities included the recruitment of choirs from around the world. She is a past president of the Pocatello Music Club, which is a local chapter of the National Federation of Music Clubs. In 2003, she received the Community Service Award from the Pocatello Music Club for outstanding community service through music excellence.
Dr. Scott Anderson, Co-Founder and Former Artistic Director
Scott Eric Anderson conducted the ISU Chamber & Concert Choirs, the Camerata Singers, and taught Choral Conducting, Choral Methods, and voice until 2024. Dr. Anderson received Idaho State University’s Master Teacher and Outstanding Public Service awards on three occasions. He was awarded the Idaho State University Alumni Association’s Faculty Achievement Award in 2011, and Idaho State University’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 2013.
Anderson received the Bachelor of Arts in Music from Whitworth College, the Master of Music from Westminster Choir College, and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He studied conducting with such eminent teachers as Eph Ehly, Joseph Flummerfelt, Allen Crowell, Frauke Hassemann and many others.
Choirs under Dr. Anderson’s direction traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America. As Director of Choral Activities at Idaho State University, Anderson led the Idaho State University Chamber Choir or Camerata Singers on performance tours of more than 22 countries over two decades. He led the Camerata Singers on a performance tour of Spain and Portugal in July 2013. Dr. Anderson conducted the ISU Chamber Choir (one of six invited University choirs) in performance at the Northwest Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Seattle, Washington in March 2014. Anderson conducted the Idaho State Civic-Symphony, the Camerata Singers, and the ISU Concert Choir in performances of the Verdi REQUIEM in April 2014.
Anderson served as the Artistic Director of the Idaho International Choral Festival where choral groups from around the world join together in Pocatello, Idaho for a week of choral performances, conducting master classes and artistic and cultural exchange. He conducted more than 100 choral festivals, including All State Festivals, Regional MENC or ACDA Honor Choirs in 16 states and Canada. He served the American Choral Directors Association in state, divisional, and national offices, and was featured as a guest conductor, lecturer and teacher throughout the United States and abroad.
