Amy Foster had always been musically inclined. There was never any doubt about it.
And in addition to her musical talents, she was committed to a high degree of excellence, which she used to help lead the choirs she directed to titles and performance invitations, as well as to excel as an esteemed pianist and music educator.
Foster had worked as the choral director of North Cobb High School since the fall of 2009. Here, she directed an intermediate mixed choir, an advanced mixed choir and an advanced women’s choir, all of which she ran with dedication and high standards, said her husband, Allen Pannell Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn.
“She had a strong commitment to excellence in everything she did,” he said. “She loved challenging the kids to excel, and her choir was one of the top high school choirs in the state.”
In 2011, her advanced mixed choir was invited to be a part of the Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary chorus, and was named as one of the top choirs in the state in 2013. It also performed at three sold-out concerts with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra Christmas choir at the Woodruff Arts Center, said North Cobb High’s fine arts department chairman and band director, Greg Williams.
“She really pushed her students to give their very best every day, and that always showed in their performances,” he said. “They were always amazing, and they always sounded great.”
Amy Adele Foster of Kennesaw and Knoxville died Jan. 8 from complications of breast cancer at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville. She was 45.
Her burial took place on Jan. 11 at Camden City Cemetery in Camden, Tenn. A choral requiem celebrating Foster’s life will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at NorthStar Church in Kennesaw, and a memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Faith Lutheran Church in Knoxville. The Mann Heritage Chapel of Rose Mortuary is handling the arrangements.
Foster earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University before getting her Master of Music from Georgia State University. In 2006, she went on to complete her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano accompanying and chamber music, with a double minor in choral conducting and piano pedagogy from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
She was very talented in piano, performing at Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall and the Square Room in Knoxville. She was also always willing to use her talents to help others, Williams said.
Foster dedicated herself to her students, often becoming somewhat of a counselor for students having problems. Her beautiful smile and infectious laugh touched the lives of not only her students, but also North Cobb’s new choral director Holly Botella, who created T-shirts saying “Foster Kid” for them to wear in Foster’s honor.
“I just wanted to show her how much she was appreciated by me and by her students,” she said. “She has seriously impacted these kids, and she was such an amazing woman.”
In addition to her husband, Foster is survived by two stepdaughters, Melissa Pannell Jones and Jessica Pannell, both of Knoxville; one stepson, Nicholas Pannell of Knoxville; mother, Dinah Petree of Nashville, Tenn.; father, John Whitney Evans III of Nashville; one sister, Jeanie Whitney Evans of Nashville; and one grandmother, Frances V. Evans of Nashville.
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