Mandy Scott
2024 Teacher of the Year 

Mandy Mikita Scott is in her 21st year of teaching, and her sixteenth at her alma mater, Rockford High School (Rockford, Michigan), where she is Director of Choirs and teaches around 125 students daily in four ensembles. She feels privileged to be on a team with her husband, Jed Scott, who directs the Rockford Aces and volunteers much of his time to support the choir program. 


Mandy studied at Western Michigan University with Joe Miller and Steve Zegree and received her Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Miami with Jo-Michael Scheibe. She is grateful that her choirs have had the opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia (where they earned Gold Medals in their categories) and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy. Most recently, in 2023 she conducted a concert tour of Spain with the Rockford Choirs with sold-out concerts in Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid.


Her choirs have also performed at both the ACDA-Michigan Fall Conference and the Michigan Music Conference. She has conducted an ensemble at the MSVMA All-State Ensemble Recital eight times.


The Rockford Choirs actively commission new choral works, and under her direction, the choirs have commissioned over 30 compositions and arrangements, including works from Z. Randall Stroope, Alice Parker, Andrea Ramsey, Michael McGlynn, Anders Edenroth, and many others.


Mandy was the Michigan High School SSAA State Honors Choir conductor in 2014, and has served terms on both the MSVMA Full Board as High School Repertoire chair

and Board of Directors as the Director of Sight Reading and Music Selection. She has also served on the ACDA-Michigan Board.


Mandy was recognized as Eric Whitacre Teacher of the Week in December, 2019. She is humbled to have four times been named as a finalist for MSVMA Teacher of the Year. She is proudest that her former students continue to make music and breathe kindness into the world.


Most of all, Mandy has had fabulous choral opportunities in her career thanks to her incredible husband and family. Together they have spent time with legendary choral composer Alice Parker on her farm in Massachusetts, hosted The Real Group in Rockford, and written poetry with her youngest, Daniella, for an Andrea Ramsey composition. Mandy and Jed have three children, Owen, Julian, and Daniella (who were all singing in MSVMA Honors Choirs this year at MMC!)


2023 Sheri Petersen

2022 Erich Wangeman

2021 Sarah Stockton

2020 Kevin Cornwell 

2019 James Cumings

2018 Monty Bishop

2017 Kelli Falls
2016 Rebecca Scofield
2015 Pamela Pierson 
2014 Steve Hinz and Russ Larimer
2013 Todd Schreiber
2012 Rodney Bushey
2011 James Borst
2010 Robert Cindric
2009 Norma Freeman
2008 Bruce Snyder


2007 Richard Ingram
2006 Cheryl Gapinski

2005 Catherine Brodie and Wendee Wolf-Schlarf

2004 Robert Oster

2003 Mark Webb

2002 Gregory Cleveland

2001 Nina Scott

2000 Leslie Rowsey

1999 Robert A. Martin

1998 Virginia Anderson-Kerwin

1997 Susan Catanese

1996 Frank DeWald and Robert Sabourin

1995 Shirley Lemon

1994 Thomas Stokes


1993 Wendy Lake and Nancy Lange
1992 Nancy Bray
1991 Larry Wolf
1990 Brazeal Dennard
1989 John Tyner
1988 David Jorlett
1987 Howard Rizner
1986 Marvin Ritsema
1985 Donald Scott
1984 Helmut "Fritz" Petrich
1983 Roger Dehn
1982 John Bright
1981 Lowell Everson and James Mahoney

1980 Dorotha Schuler

1979 Jerry Smith

1978 Guy "Skip" Frizzell

1977 James Leonard
1976 Andy Zerban
1975 John Tousley
1974 Robert Ballard
1973 Eugene Dyer
1972 Eleanor Balaam
1971 John Elwell
1970 Gerald Gilbert
1969 Alfred "Giff" Richards
1968 Kenneth Jewell


The MSVMA membership annually honors one of its own with recognition as Teacher of the Year. Nominations are made at spring and fall District meetings, forwarded to the past president for verification of requirements and placement on a ballot for membership  consideration. 

Teacher of the Year nominees must:

  • Be a current member of MSVMA
  • Have taught a minimum of 15 years, at least 10 of which are on the secondary level in Michigan
  • Have demonstrated consistent excellence in performance
  • Have been influential in creating a love and understanding of music for the masses
The Teacher of the Year is announced at the Michigan Music Conference and finalists are asked to attend.


                                                                                                  

Michigan School Vocal Music Association

P.O. Box 1131

Big Rapids, MI 49307-1131

(231) 592 - 9344

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