Photo Flash: Columbus Symphony Announces Music Educator Award Winners

Three nominees have been selected to receive a 2011 Music Educator Award in the categories of elementary, secondary, and community education. Each winner will receive a monetary grant to be spent at their discretion on a broad range of music education endeavors. Past winners have used these funds to host guest instructors, repair instruments, take professional development classes, and purchase new instruments, computer software, and music.

The recipients of the Music Educator Awards will be presented at a brunch at the Hyatt on Capitol Square (75 E. State St., Columbus, OH 43215) on April 10, 2011, at 12:30pm. The Music Educator Awards are made possible through the generous support of McGraw-Hill Companies with additional support provided by American Electric Power and Battelle.

The winners of the 2011 Music Educator Awards are:

2011 Music Educator Award - Elementary Education

Deborah Graham-Gibson is presently one of two Elementary Music Specialists at Barrington Elementary in Upper Arlington, Ohio. She earned a BS in music education with a flute performance minor from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MA from The Ohio State University in music education with an emphasis in Special Learners and Curricular Integration.

In 2011, she earned the title of Ohio Master Teacher from the Ohio Department of Education. She has spent her career with the Upper Arlington City Schools as a General and Vocal Music Specialist, and is blessed to be working with some of the most innovative and creative colleagues imaginable. Deborah was named the Upper Arlington City Schools Teacher of the Year for 2004-05. She has also worked as a Flute Specialist with marching bands in Bellbrook, Dublin, and Upper Arlington, and has served as a woodwinds section coach with the Columbus Symphony Cadet Orchestra. She served on the staff of the Wooster Music Camp as a Flute Specialist and Conductor's Assistant.

Deborah presently performs with the Worthington Civic Band and as a soloist throughout the Columbus area.

She has served on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Music Education Association and is on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. She currently serves as the OMEA General Music Professional Development Committee Chair.

Deborah lives in Dublin with her husband Robert and son Brian. Robert, Deborah, and their older son, Chris, are all music educators and enjoy the camaraderie that those roles add to their family!

2011 Music Educator Award - Secondary Education

Phil Louden's first teaching job was at New Philadelphia High School in 1981, where he served as a tutor, freshman class advisor, and assisted the band. He then spent three years teaching in Newcomerstown, Ohio, where he enjoyed great success but missed living in the Columbus area. For the past 27 years, Phil has been a teacher in the Westerville City School District. He currently teaches iHHeband at Genoa Middle School (where he was able to exact a small moment of parental retribution by also serving as his children's band teacher). He also assists with the Westerville Central High School Marching Band and serves as a Secondary Music Curriculum Coordinator.

He has received an "Innovative Teaching Award" from the Ohio Department of Education, Westerville Superintendents A+ Award, and a "Technology Across the Curriculum Award" from the Best Buy Corporation. His Heritage Middle School Band commissioned "Song of Hope" by composer James Swearingen at "Sights, Sounds, and Sensations" in 2002. Groups under his direction have received national recognition and numerous state and local superior ratings at musical events.

Phil received his bachelor's degree in music education from Western Michigan University and a master's degree from The Ohio State University. His professional affiliations include the Ohio Music Education Association and Phi Beta Mu. He has been a presenter at OMEA, Capital University, Ohio State University, Otterbein University, and the University of Cincinnati. He has contributed to his profession by working with more than 75 student teachers and college participants. Phil's career has been dedicated to the creation of lifelong musicians, teachers, and appreciators of music.

2011 Music Educator Award - Community Education

At age 11, Karen Pfeifer began oboe lessons with Ohio State University professor, William Baker, working with him for ten years until graduating with a degree in Music Education. Karen continued her oboe studies at Temple University with legendary English hornist, Louis Rosenblatt of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and graduated with a Masters in Oboe Performance.

As a music educator, Karen Pfeifer is driven by an internal passion to inspire music excellence. Karen strives to reach each student through drive, honest evaluation, constructive instruction, positive environment, and a compassionate interest in each student. Her students consistently place ahead of others at state and national levels, and have been selected as soloists in both the Columbus Symphony Youth and Cadet Orchestras. Numerous students have continued oboe on a college level, and others are now playing professionally.

Outside the private studio, Karen has shared her teaching strategies at the Ohio Music Educators Association 2001 Conference, and over the years, students have joined her at six International Double Reed Society Conferences. For a number of summers, she developed a program entitled "Oboesong," featuring her students during the Ohio State Fair in the art gallery. Finally, Karen has recently implemented a series of oboe master classes for area oboists, beginning last year with visiting oboe professors from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Vanderbilt University.

Karen is a founding member of the Columbus Bach Ensemble where she performed as principal oboe for its duration, and was frequently featured as soloist. Karen also enjoys her time as principal oboist of the Central Ohio Symphony where she has also appeared as soloist. Last, Karen is excited be a part of the recently formed New Albany Symphony Orchestra as principal oboe. She and her wonderful husband Bob live in Dublin, Ohio, and share in the adventure of raising six children, ranging in age from five to 22 years of age.

The 2011 Music Educator Award winners were selected based on the following criteria:

* Make a lasting difference in the lives of students of all abilities and backgrounds
* Routinely go "above and beyond the call of duty" by extending efforts beyond the classroom
* Make a significant impact on their community through music education
* Inspire students to reach appropriately high levels of musical understanding and ability
* Demonstrate longevity in the field of music education by their many years of work

For more information, please visit www.ColumbusSymphony.com.

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, education excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The CSO also appreciates the support of the Columbus Foundation, assisting donors and others in strengthening our community for the benefit of all of its citizens, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council, supporting the city's artists and arts organizations since 1973.

Founded in 1951, the Columbus Symphony is the only full-time, professional symphony in central Ohio. Through an array of innovative artistic, educational, and community outreach programming, the Columbus Symphony is reaching an expanding to a more diverse audience each year. This season, the Columbus Symphony will share classical music with more than a quarter million people in central Ohio through concerts, radio broadcasts, and special programming. For more information, visit www.columbussymphony.com.

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