Wally Mayo - Minister of Music

Wally Mayo came to Melrose in February of 1997 after just completing a Master's degree in conducting from Florida State University. He there served as a co-conductor of the FSU Choral Union, a 60-voice choral group. Also in Tallahassee, Wally served in music for 12 years at Forest Heights Baptist Church.

Prior education includes a Master's degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1984, and an undergraduate degree in music education from FSU in 1975 (where he studied with the emminent Clayton Krehbiel, who was for many years the assistant director of the Robert Shaw Chorale). There was special study in music business including copyright law, music publishing, and studio engineering at Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee. Wally also taught high school music in Pensacola, Florida from 1976-78.

Presently, Wally has a number of choral and keyboard pieces published with four publishers. He has been active as a clinician for a number of music conferences, especially in the area of MIDI, computer music scoring, and copyright law. Recently, he was one of the judges for the district VII choral festival held at Northside High School in Roanoke, Virginia.

His hobbies include amateur radio, computers, meteorology, and table tennis. He and his wife, Melinda, love being in the mountains and enjoy the culture and people of the Roanoke Valley.