- University Department Music
- Location School of Arts and Design
- Phone Number +1 (336) 816-4982
- Email [email protected]
Dr. Carol Earnhardt serves as the Assistant Director of Choral Activities at High Point University (HPU), where she directs the HPU Women’s Chorus and the HPU Chapel Choir. She also teaches MUS 1600: Human Dimensions of Music, a course exploring the deep connections between music, culture, and human experience throughout history. Each year, Dr. Earnhardt tours with the HPU Chamber Singers both nationally and internationally to recruit talented students for the university’s choral program and organizes a range of campus events to increase HPU’s visibility to prospective students.
In addition to her musical leadership, Dr. Earnhardt is actively involved in campus ministry. She collaborates with the ministry team to plan and lead worship services throughout the year, including the annual Lessons and Carols service in December. Among her favorite student traditions are monthly “Starbucks socials” and lively laser tag battles at the HPU Mansion with choir members.
A highly respected clinician and speaker, Dr. Earnhardt is frequently invited to lead professional development workshops and choral clinics. In Fall 2025, she will host and conduct the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS) All-State Choral Festival at HPU, welcoming hundreds of high school students and their families to campus. She will also conduct the North Carolina Military Child Honor Choir, a nonprofit initiative offering musical opportunities to students with ties to active-duty and veteran military personnel.
Dr. Earnhardt holds National Board Certification (since 2005) and earned her Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in December 2021. Before joining HPU, she was the choral director at Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, NC. Under her leadership, the program gained statewide and national acclaim, performing by invitation at Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the NC Music Educators Association (NCMEA) Conference, and the NC American Choral Directors Association (NC ACDA) Conference.
Her excellence in teaching and conducting has earned numerous accolades, including:
- Glenn High School Teacher of the Year (2007)
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Teacher of the Year (2008)
- NCMEA High School Choral Section State Teacher of the Year (2015)
- Lara Hoggard Award from NC ACDA (2020)
Beyond the university, Dr. Earnhardt is the Artistic Director of the Heart of the Triad Choral Society, a large community choir that performs with a professional orchestra twice annually. She remains actively involved with both NCMEA and NC ACDA, having served on the governing boards of both organizations in various roles. Most notably, she served as President of NCMEA, frequently advocating in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. for music education as a fundamental part of every child’s learning experience. Currently, she chairs the NCMEA Mentoring Committee, coordinates Music Performance Adjudications, leads the NC ACDA Awards Committee and serves as an adjudicator for the NCMEA Honors Chorus Auditions and the NCMEA High School Chorus MPAs.
Dr. Earnhardt resides in Wallburg, NC with her husband, Mike. She is the proud mother of three children: Ashley, a high school chorus teacher; John, a U.S. Army veteran; and Chase, a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and riding the golf cart to visit her three beloved grandsons.