Loretta Pritchard is a native of Dadeville, Alabama, located in the east-central part of the state in the county of Tallapoosa, a Creek name which means "crushed rock" or "sand." 

Dadeville, named after Francis Langhorne Dade, has been the Tallapoosa County seat since 1838.  Dadeville is also home to beautiful Lake Martin, one of the largest man made lakes in the country.

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Loretta graduated from Dadeville High School as Salutatorian of her class in 1981.  She was voted "Most Talented" by Dadeville HIgh School students her senior year and was chosen "Most Outstanding Senior" for 1980-81 by the faculty.

 

 She earned an Associates of Arts degree in music in 1983 from Central Alabama Community College, then known as Alexander City State Junior College.  She graduated with highest honors  and received the prestigious Senator James B. Allen Award at the time of her graduation.  She was also voted "ACJC Favorite" by her peers for 1982-83.

 

  She went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Piano Pedagogy in 1986 from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama.  She received several awards her senior year, including "Senior Elite for the Department of Music," the "Lois Thompson Mims Memorial Award" for music, and the "Elizabeth Frances Young Piano Award" for excellence in teaching and performing. She was also a member of several national honor societies including Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honorary.

 

In 1988, Loretta earned a Master's degree in Piano Performance, also from the University of Montevallo.  As a graduate student, she was voted the "Outstanding Graduate Student" for the Department of Music for 1988 by the faculty.

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Loretta began composing and playing music at the age of 4.  She became the full-time pianist for her church, New Concord Baptist, at the age of 8, and the pianist for The Pritchard Family, a Gospel group consisting of her father, Loyal, mother, Mary Jo, and brother, Phillip a few years later. The Pritchard Family traveled throughout Alabama singing at various churches.  Loretta also played for many other events and vocalists across Tallapoosa County while growing up - anything from weddings and parties to Broadway musicals.

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As an adult, Loretta continued performing on both piano and organ, serving in churches in her hometown, later on in Birmingham, AL and then in Austin, TX.  She also taught piano for a total of 20 years in Alabama, Texas and Montana.  

 

As a composer, she has compositions published by The FJH Music Company, Lifeway Christian Resources, and Loretta Pritchard Music.

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Loretta's passion for writing words emerged around 2010 when she began writing about events and music subjects for Ellis Piano, located in Birmingham, Alabama, where she has been working for over 28 years as an educational consultant and manager of the Print Music Department.  She also started blogging on her own personal Facebook page, which then evolved into writing short stories.

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Loretta's inspirations are true events that happen in her everyday life.  She continues to compose , perform and teach music, and she also enjoys reading, knitting and watching movies.  She presently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. 

 

 Thanks for visiting!

                                                                  Loretta Pritchard