Joanne Houston

Joanne Houston has been the Director of Bands at Spaulding High School since the fall of 1984. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education in 1980 at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. During her tenure at Spaulding High School in Rochester, New Hampshire, the instrumental and vocal program has quadrupled in size and received many accolades throughout the United States. In 1992, Joanne was honored by her colleagues as Teacher of The Year. In 1994, Joanne received her Master of Education Degree in Administration and Supervision at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. She is currently serving as chair of the Music Department in the City of Rochester within ten schools supervising eight staff members. On numerous occasions, Joanne has been a guest lecturer at Plymouth State College and presented workshops for the student chapter of MENC as well as the New England Band Directors Summer Institute on Student Leadership and the High School Marching Band. In the spring of 1999, Joanne was nominated as an outstanding Music Educator for the Disney American Teacher Awards amongst 14,500 nominees from throughout the United States. In January 2000, Joanne received the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from the Rochester, New Hampshire Jaycees Chapter. Joanne is currently an active and well-respected member of the New Hampshire Music Educators Association, New Hampshire Band Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference and Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Cheryl Richardson

Cheryl Richardson received her Bachelor's Degree from Marshall University in Music Education with emphasis on Vocal Performance. She taught public school music in Cabell County, West Virginia for eleven years. While at Beverly Hills Junior her ninth grade concert choir was selected as an honor group for West Virginia Music Educators Association Convention and her Show Choir received three consecutive Superior ratings at WVMEA Show Choir Festival. At Barboursville High School, her Junior/Senior Concert Choir and Chansonsettes Show Choir both continually received state and national recognition as Superior groups.

Cheryl was the choreographer and assistant director for Tech Singers at West Virginia Institute of Technology, the musical director of the Tug Valley Choral Society, and the founder/director of Lilliput Singers which was a community children's chorus sponsored by the Tug Valley Arts Council.Currently, Cheryl is a music teacher in the Rochester, New Hampshire Public School System where she directs the choral ensembles and bell choir at the High School and Middle School levels. She has co-produced Music Man and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as well as working as a part of the Performing Arts Department Staff. Cheryl recently did clinician work for schools in West Virginia, including Boone, Greenbrier, Logan and was very pleased to return to Putnam County to work with many talented young vocalists.

Rich Pedrick

Rich Pedrick graduated Summa Cum Laude from Plymouth State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. While studying at Plymouth, Rich received numerous awards and scholarships as well as the Fellowship in Jazz Studies in 1999. He also was the recipient of The Silver Award, given each year by PSU for the Most Outstanding Male in Education for 2000. Since student teaching at Spaulding High School in Rochester, NH, Rich has served as a full time music teacher teaching choral and instrumental performing groups as well as general music, theatre, music technology and television production classes at Spaulding. For the past four years Rich has served on the staff of the Junior & Senior Piano Monster Festival at PSU as a counselor, clinician, and as conductor of the Digital Keyboard Ensemble. Rich is a member of MENC (Music Educator's National Conference), IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators), TIME (Technology Integration in Music Education), and ATMI (Association for Technology in Music Instruction).