Kenneth Kilgore
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Kenneth Kilgore | |
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| Born | January 26, 1947 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US |
| Died | April 14, 2011 (aged 64) |
| Occupation | Jazz musician |
| Years active | 1970–2010 |
Kenneth Kilgore (January 26, 1947 – April 14, 2011) was an American jazz musician, a Minister of Music, and an educator. He founded the Ambassadors' Concert Choir in 1979 and the choir performed with other musicians at multiple events. He won several awards and a bridge in Oklahoma City was named in his honor two years after his death.
Kenneth Kilgore was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on January 26, 1947, and spent his childhood there. His father Leonard Kilgore died when Kenneth was 16 years old and his mother was Lola Peters Kilgore. Of all the children his parents had from prior relationships, Kilgore was the youngest child and the only child from his parents' relationship together.[1] He graduated from Douglass High School and attended Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, where he received a bachelor's degree.[2]
In January 1969, Kilgore began teaching at the mostly white Herald Elementary School in Oklahoma City. At the time, public schools in Oklahoma City were going through racial integration and Kilgore was placed there as the first black teacher. Kilgore attended Langston University in Oklahoma after deciding that he wanted more schooling in the 1990s.[1] He received a Master of Education degree at Langston and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Oklahoma State University.[2]