Dr. Perry Shank - Smithland Elementary School
9:30am, Music Building Room 142
Perry Shank is a K-4 Music educator for Harrisonburg City School system and holds his Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. He has over sixteen years of experience in teaching at public and private K-12 schools and has spent the past few years studying and researching the imaginative process in elementary classroom settings. Dr. Shank is a two-time nominated teacher of the year for the Smithland Elementary School and a recognized innovative music teacher with his use of electronic instruments, midi-controllers, and turntables for 21st century music instruction. His current academic and research interests include collaborative music making using electronic instruments, maker spaces in the music classroom, and building analog modular synthesizers.
Dr. Gary Ritcher - James Madison University
10:45am, Music Building Room 204
Gary Ritcher taught for 10 years as an elementary music specialist in Colorado. He has made presentations at the state and national conventions of Music Educators National Conference and The American Choral Directors Association. He is director of the JMU Orff/Kodaly Ensemble and holds Level III Orff certification from George Mason University. He has served as a guest clinician of district and state children's choirs and is founder and past director of the Southern Illinois Children's Choir. He is co-author of Horizons, a collection of international children's songs and state adviser for the Collegiate Music Education National Conference.
Heather Eberly - Spotswood Elementary School
1:30pm, Music Building Room 142
Heather Eberly has spent the last 10 years teaching music at Spotswood Elementary School in Harrisonburg. She feels fortunate to work with a diverse population which includes a high percentage English Language Learners and students whose families are challenged by poverty. In addition to sponsoring extra-curricular activities such as the Spotswood Singers, Orff Ensemble, and SES Drama Club, Heather has served in many leadership roles at Spotswood. In 2010, she was named Educator of the Year.
Dr. Eric Guinivan - James Madison University
2:45pm, Music Building Room 204
Eric Guinivan’s music has been performed by orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States, Europe, and Asia. His works have received several awards and honors, including three BMI Student Composer Awards, three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, and grants from Chamber Music America, the Theodore Presser Foundation, and Meet the Composer. Eric currently curates the new music website Composers Circle, which he founded in May 2012 with the goal of profiling one composer and one piece each day. Now in its fourth year, Composers Circle has profiled more than 1,000 new works by more than 750 composers.
Greg Thomas - Albemarle High School
4:00pm, Music Building Room 142
Greg Thomas is in his 31th year of teaching music in the Albemarle County Public Schools and 23st year at Albemarle High School. Under his direction, the Albemarle High School Band has been recognized fifteen times by the VBODA as a “Virginia Honor Band”. His Jazz Ensemble is a six-time winner and thirteen-time finalist of the Chantilly High School Jazz Invitational. He has presented multiple times at the State VMEA conference on the subjects of Jazz and improvisation in the classroom.
9:30am, Music Building Room 142
Perry Shank is a K-4 Music educator for Harrisonburg City School system and holds his Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. He has over sixteen years of experience in teaching at public and private K-12 schools and has spent the past few years studying and researching the imaginative process in elementary classroom settings. Dr. Shank is a two-time nominated teacher of the year for the Smithland Elementary School and a recognized innovative music teacher with his use of electronic instruments, midi-controllers, and turntables for 21st century music instruction. His current academic and research interests include collaborative music making using electronic instruments, maker spaces in the music classroom, and building analog modular synthesizers.
Dr. Gary Ritcher - James Madison University
10:45am, Music Building Room 204
Gary Ritcher taught for 10 years as an elementary music specialist in Colorado. He has made presentations at the state and national conventions of Music Educators National Conference and The American Choral Directors Association. He is director of the JMU Orff/Kodaly Ensemble and holds Level III Orff certification from George Mason University. He has served as a guest clinician of district and state children's choirs and is founder and past director of the Southern Illinois Children's Choir. He is co-author of Horizons, a collection of international children's songs and state adviser for the Collegiate Music Education National Conference.
Heather Eberly - Spotswood Elementary School
1:30pm, Music Building Room 142
Heather Eberly has spent the last 10 years teaching music at Spotswood Elementary School in Harrisonburg. She feels fortunate to work with a diverse population which includes a high percentage English Language Learners and students whose families are challenged by poverty. In addition to sponsoring extra-curricular activities such as the Spotswood Singers, Orff Ensemble, and SES Drama Club, Heather has served in many leadership roles at Spotswood. In 2010, she was named Educator of the Year.
Dr. Eric Guinivan - James Madison University
2:45pm, Music Building Room 204
Eric Guinivan’s music has been performed by orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States, Europe, and Asia. His works have received several awards and honors, including three BMI Student Composer Awards, three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, and grants from Chamber Music America, the Theodore Presser Foundation, and Meet the Composer. Eric currently curates the new music website Composers Circle, which he founded in May 2012 with the goal of profiling one composer and one piece each day. Now in its fourth year, Composers Circle has profiled more than 1,000 new works by more than 750 composers.
Greg Thomas - Albemarle High School
4:00pm, Music Building Room 142
Greg Thomas is in his 31th year of teaching music in the Albemarle County Public Schools and 23st year at Albemarle High School. Under his direction, the Albemarle High School Band has been recognized fifteen times by the VBODA as a “Virginia Honor Band”. His Jazz Ensemble is a six-time winner and thirteen-time finalist of the Chantilly High School Jazz Invitational. He has presented multiple times at the State VMEA conference on the subjects of Jazz and improvisation in the classroom.
