2012 Swan Award Winner: Gary Lamprecht

Gary Lamprecht grew up in Long Beach California. He attended Long Beach City College, Cal State University, Long Beach. He received his teaching credential through Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo.

Gary Lamprecht was a public school teacher for 34 years. He taught 7th through 12th grade choral music on the Central Coast at Laguna Middle School, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo High School.

Gary Lamprecht has sponsored and presented the annual Central Coast Choral Festival for Middle and High School Choirs for 39 years. In recent years as man as 75 choirs have attended the two day Festival.

In 1985, Mr. Lamprecht had the distinction of receiving the first “Teacher of the Year” award for San Luis Obispo and Coastal Unified School District.

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He was again honored as “Teacher of the Year” for San Luis Obispo and Coastal Unified School District in 1997 and San Luis Obispo County “Teacher of the Year” in 1998.

In 1994 the Monterey Jazz Festival sent his Vocal Jazz Choir to perform in New Zealand and Australia.

The combined Concert Choirs of San Luis Obispo High and Morro Bay High performed for the ACDA Western Division Convention in Hawaii in 2002.

His combined Concert Choir also performed for the 2003 National Convention of the American Choral Directors in New York City.

The combined Concert Choirs performed in the 2005 National Choral Festival in Carnegie Hall.

He is founder and musical director of the VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE of San Luis Obispo for the past 35 years. This choir has toured overseas ten times in the past 35 years.

Gary Lamprecht sat on the CA Board of the ACDA for 13 years. Gary was ECCO Chairman for three years. He and Dan Earl started the ACDA “Golden State Choral Competition” as a state wide event to motivate singers to excel.

Upon retiring in 2007, It was the vision of Gary and Pat Lamprecht to begin the California International Choral Festival. “Our experiences in making music at festivals around the world have been so awe-inspiring, and meaningful that we knew it would be a great event in our own community.”
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Gary and Pat Lamprecht have three adult children and three Grandsons.