Chris Maunu is a conductor, educator, composer, and professional singer based in the Denver-Metro area. A GRAMMY® nominated educator, he is the Director of Choral Activities at Arvada West High School. A passionate teacher, Mr. Maunu was named a top 10 Finalist for the 2018, 2020, and 2021 GRAMMY® Music Educator Award. He was also winner of the 2019 and 2020 CMA® National Music Teacher of Excellence Award. Since starting his career at Arvada West in 2006, the department has nearly tripled in size and has become one of the premiere high school choir programs in the United States. Choirs under Maunu’s direction have performed at 12 national, regional, and state ACDA and CMEA conferences. They were also winners of the prestigious American Prize in Choral Performance in 2018 and won the 2nd Place Prize in the Ernst Bacon Award for the performance of American Music in 2019 (the only choir to place in this competition of ensembles of all types). Internationally, the choir also was invited by audition to perform in the Champions Competition of the 11th World Choir Games and earned the Gold Diploma at the 2020 Rimini International Choral Competition. Mr. Maunu was named the Colorado Community Media "2019 Best of the Best" Teacher. He also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Northern State University where he delivered the 2018 Commencement Address. Chris was a recipient of a Commendation from the 71st House of Representatives for his work as a music educator. He is also a proponent of sharing his students' work. Solo performance videos of Maunu's high school choirs have received significant attention in music circles, receiving well over a million hits on YouTube and other media and social media outlets.
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Dr. Peter Haberman serves as the director of bands and associate professor of music at Concordia College, where he conducts The Concordia Band. He also leads the Echo Band, works with student conductors, teaches music education courses and coordinates the comprehensive band program. Prior to his appointment at Concordia, Haberman held similar positions as director of bands at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Bucknell University.
Haberman maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician across North America. His ensembles have performed at conferences and music festivals across the nation and internationally. He also has served as music director for many community ensembles including the Chippewa Valley Youth Symphony. Prior to his college career, Haberman spent several years teaching at the Mercer Island School District in Washington and the Maple Lake School District in Minnesota. He was honored to be the recipient of the Educator of the Year Award and the Principal’s Award for Outstanding Teaching at Mercer Island, and the Maple Lake Employee of the Year Award. Haberman is an active board member for the Minnesota Band Directors Association. He is also a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Minnesota Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, and World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. His honorary memberships include Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, and Pi Kappa Lambda. A native of Minnesota, he has earned degrees from Concordia College, the University of Montana, and the University of Minnesota, where he completed a Doctor of Music Arts in conducting. Haberman lives in Moorhead, Minnesota, with his wife, Erika Tomten, and their daughter, Claire. |
The name Mickey Smith, Jr. has become synonymous with the words "music” & "education" across the country. As a dynamic and driven sax man that is passionate about music and education, Mickey has been the band director at Maplewood Middle School since 2005. In addition to playing music and teaching, he also serves educators through his SOUND180 EDUCATORS program and supports organizations that promote music education for children; for example, he is president of the non-profit Musicmakers2U, which gives deserving young people musical instruments at no cost. He is currently the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator Award national winner. This award recognizes the country's top music instructor and influencer in the nation. Mickey uses a unique motivational mixture of music and message to encourage others to KEEP ON GOING and DISCOVER THEIR SOUND.
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Elizabeth Bennett is a two time GRAMMY nominated music educator, a graduate of Northwestern University where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Bassoon Performance, and of Concordia University Wisconsin where she received a Masters in Choral Conducting and Composing.
Following her NU graduation in 2004, Mrs. Bennett began as Assistant Orchestra and Band Director at Vernon Hills High School in Vernon Hills, IL. She began teaching as a Director of Orchestras in District 214 the following year and accepted the position at Buffalo Grove High School in 2008 in Buffalo Grove, IL. Additionally Mrs. Bennett serves as the Fine & Performing Arts Coordinator, Press Release Writer, AP Music Theory teacher, and teacher and creator of the Music Workshop course at BGHS. As a teacher, Bennett strives to focus on the whole student, teaching music so that students may access their greatest potential and better the world as a whole. Additional Orchestral conducting roles include previously serving as the District 214 Honors Orchestra Director, and at the Merit School of Music in Chicago as the Director of the Junior Conservatory Orchestra. While an active adjudicator and clinician throughout the country, Mrs. Bennet has also guest conducted or presented at events from the Midwest to Las Vegas and is a regular Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University. In 2008 the Illinois Music Educators Association recognized Mrs. Bennett as an outstanding emerging music educator. Additionally, in 2014 the University of Chicago awarded her the Outstanding Educator Award. Mrs. Bennett was the recipient of the prestigious national Distinguished Secondary Teacher Award from Northwestern University in 2015. In 2018 Mrs. Bennett received District 214’s Dr. Elizabeth A. Ennis Innovator Award. Additionally, Mrs. Bennett was named a finalist (top 10) and a semi-finalist (top 25) for the 2020 and 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Awards. While Mrs. Bennett holds a degree in bassoon performance, she is also an accomplished violinist and vocalist. She picked up the violin in the 4th grade through her school’s music program, began conducting ensembles at the age of 14 through opportunities provided by her beloved high school Orchestra Director at Valley High School, Phil Peters, and has been involved in one or more choirs since the 2nd grade. She served as Choir Director and Cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, Illinois from 2008-2013. Beyond the world of classical music Mrs. Bennett regularly studies the influence of Rock and Pop music on the world and culture of today. Bennett frequently attends concerts ranging from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to today’s hottest pop and rock artists. Bennett believes the world of music is far-reaching and can have a serious impact on the history, politics, and culture of today’s society. It is the education of music that can help foster relationships, understanding, creativity, and acceptance. Besides her musical career Mrs. Bennett enjoys creative culinary adventures in her kitchen and spending quality time with her husband and two young daughters. |