About the director....
I have been teaching in the Boise Public Schools now for 33 years. I currently teach three orchestras at Boise High School (with approximately 120 students), as well as the 8th and 9th grade orchestra classes at North Junior High School (with approximately 75 orchestra students).
The Boise High School Orchestra program has been very fortunate to be able to provide the students with some incredible experiences over the last several years. In March of 1997 and again in March of 1999 the Boise High School Orchestras were invited to attend the Banff International Orchestra Festival. The students had a tremendous learning experience and gave outstanding performances.
The Boise High Chamber Orchestra is a bi-annual attendee to the Mt. Hood Orchestra Festival in Gresham, Oregon, where they have placed with the top orchestras in the Northwest. They took first place in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2010. The Chamber Orchestra was also chosen to perform for the Idaho Music Educators’ Conference in 1998 and 2001; and the Northwest Music Educators’ Conference in 1999, 2005 and 2009. The Chamber Orchestra was selected to perform at the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in 2007 and again in 2012. In 2007, they were selected as one of only two orchestras to receive the Superior Performance Award. The Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform for the International Orchestra Festival in Graz, Austria in 2000 and in Stavanger, Norway in 2002. They have given performing tours in 2005, 2008 and again in 2011 in such European countries as France, Italy, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. These trips provide an incredible experience and the performances have been very well received by professional musicians from all over the world.
In January of 2003 I was surprised and honored to be awarded the “Idaho Music Educator of the Year”. Having this award presented to me by Mr. Mel Shelton, whom I greatly respect, in front of my orchestra students meant a great deal to me. In September of 2007 my husband, Phil, and I were presented with the Mayors Award for Excellence in Arts Education.
As much as I love to teach, I love to be a performer as well. So in my “spare time” I play in the Syringa String Quartet. I was a member of the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra for 28 years. I love to do crafts, particularly card making and gardening. Most of all, I love to spend time with my family. Our daughter, Angela, and her husband Rodney are back from Massachusetts; and our son, Ryan, is entering his second year of graduate school at the University of North Texas.