Conference Chair and Area Chairs

Kathy Briggs, 2018 OMEA President Elect

Kathy Briggs has been teaching in public and private schools since 1997 She started her teaching career in the public schools in Minnesota, where she taught elementary music and high school choir foreightyears . Now in her 11th year at St . Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon teaching general music and choir, she also conducts the Women’s Chorale at the University of Portland

Ms . Briggs earned her BA in Music Education from the University of WisconsinMadison and her MA in Music Education/Choral Conducting from the University of St Thomas She has earned numerous awards and recognition for her teaching, including the 2016 Oregon ACDA Podium Award for Excellence in the Choral Arts . Her research has been published in the ACDA Choral Journal, she has authored and published general music lesson plans for VH1 and NAfME, and she has been a clinician at both state and regional NAfME conferences Ms Briggs’ choirs have won numerous awards and recognition in the Pacific Northwest, including a performance at the 2013 NAfME Northwest Conference and winning the 2015 OSAA State Choir Championship for 6A schools Her students have toured in New York, Florida, Washington, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France and her choir has twice been invited to perform for President Obama and the First Lady and their guests in the White House

Ms Briggs is a third-generation educator – both her parents were public school teachers and her grandfather was a high school band director She was active in music and choir from an early age and was a proud tuba player in the band throughout elementary, middle, and high school in her rural Wisconsin home town She is a proud member of ACDA, NAfME, and OMEA and is honored to be the current OMEA President-Elect It is Ms Briggs’ lifelong dream to meet Julie Andrews

Janet Lea, OMEA 2nd Vice President

Janet Lea teaches Kindergarten through fifth grade general music and fourth and fifth grade choir at North Bay Elementary, at North Bend School District in North Bend, Oregon This is her thirteenth year teaching, and before elementary music, she taught secondary choir. She attended Pacific Lutheran University from 1995-1998, studying music composition . She received her Bachelor of Arts, with an emphasis in music composition, from Whitworth College in 1999, and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis & Clark College in 2005 . Ms . Lea also holds an Endorsement in Drama from George Fox University.

Jeff Hornick, OMEA Band Chair

Jeff Hornick is currently in his twelfth year as Director of Bands at McMinnville High School in McMinnville, Oregon . Previously, he had been Director of Bands at Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, and at Estacada High School and Estacada Junior High School, in Estacada, Oregon

A graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Mr Hornick has spent most of the last 41 years in the Portland area, having grown up in Hillsboro, Oregon. He credits much of his success to the many fine teachers he had while attending school in Hillsboro and to the faculty in the music department at Lewis and Clark

Jeff has taught music at all levels from 1st and 2nd grade general music through college bands. A firm believer in the power of life-long music making, he is honored to have recently been named the conductor of the Al Kader Shrine Concert Band in Portland. His professional affiliations include membership in the Oregon Music Education Association, the Oregon Band Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the International Association for Jazz Education, the International Trumpet Guild, and the Portland Brass Society

Helping others share the joy of learning through music is the cornerstone of his teaching philosophy

Karen Bohart, OMEA Choral Chair

Karen Bohart is the Director of Choirs at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon where she has taught since 2001 Karen directsfive choirs, including her large auditioned concert choir Pro Cantorum Karen is the current ORACDA/OMEA Choral Liaison chair She has served in the past on the OMEA Board as the Manager for several Oregon All-state choirs She has also served in the past on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Womens Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. In 2017 she presented at the OMEA State Conference Her session was titled “Cultivating a Choral Community in a Sea of Diversity” which reflected her passion for building community within diverse student populations

Karen has also enjoyed working as a staff member on a trip to Europe with the Oregon Ambassadors of Music, 2015. Karen is a state certified choral adjudicator and has adjudicated choir and solo/ensemble festivals in both Oregon and Vancouver, Washington She enjoys teaching piano and directing the vocal music of the Reynolds High School musicals

Karen holds a Bachelor of Science in Music from the University of Oregon, and a Master of Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder

Dan Davey, OMEA Jazz Music Chair

Dan Davey is the Director of Jazz Studies and Music Instructor at Mt Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon where he directs all jazz ensembles and teaches core music courses . Dan received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Berklee College of Music and his Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University He taught high school for eight years in Massachusetts before moving into higher education at Stonehill College and now at MHCC Dan works as a professional pianist, organist, and trumpet player and has performed at several notable venues including Symphony Hall, Ryles Jazz Club, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion (Boston, MA), and the Greensville Performing Arts Center (Emporia, VA) He has played in several musical pit orchestras and also with the South Coast Jazz Orchestra, the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, Herb Reed and the Platters, Doc Severinsen, Allen Vizzutti and Bobby Shew

Dijana Ihas, OMEA Orchestra Chair

Dr. Dijana Ihas is an Associate Professor of Music Education at Pacific University, in Forest Grove, Oregon, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, serves as an applied viola instructor, supervises student teachers, and conducts the Pacific Philharmonic Orchestra.

She is a Founding Director and Master Teacher of the String Project, the first and only program of its kind in Oregon. While teaching in public schools, her orchestras won numerous state and national competitions . Dr Ihas’ research interests evolve around instructional strategies, mentoring undergraduate research, and application of string pedagogy methods and approaches in orchestra classes

Her publications appeared in American String Teacher (AST) magazine, Journal of String Research, and Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR) Quarterly Dr

Ihas’ educational background includes MFA in Viola Performance (University of California, Irvine, MM in Music Education (University of Arizona) and PhD in Music Education (University of Oregon )

Beth Wheeler, Elementary Chair

Dr Wheeler teaches various courses in music education at the University of Oregon, including: courses on elementary music pedagogy, music in early childhood, and research in music education Her research focus is primarily in the area of music perception and cognition . She has presented research at the National Association for Music Education Biennial Conference, the International Symposium for Research in Music Behavior, and the Kansas Music Educators Association State Conference

Dr Wheeler has served as the Elementary Chairperson for the Oregon Music Education Association, Northeast District Elementary Chairperson for the Kansas Music Educators Association, Secretary/Treasurer for the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association, Flute and Woodwind ensemble Adjudicator for the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association, Curriculum and Instructional coach for elementary music educators in Kansas, Professional Development Instructor for public school music educators in Oregon, Missouri and Kansas, guest Clinician/Conductor in Missouri and Kansas, and as a public school music educator in Iowa, Arkansas, and Kansas .

Dr Wheeler is a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Kansas Music Educators Association (KSMEA), Oregon Music Education Association (OMEA), and the Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC)

Mari Schay, OMEA General Music Chair

Mari Schay is the general music teacher at Earl Boyles Elementary School in David Douglas School District, where she teaches preschool through fifth grade general music and an after school marimba band In addition to her teaching, Mari is a regular contributor to Activate Magazine as well as an author of books intended to help elementary music teachers design curriculum She lives in Portland with her family