About the Director

Mrs. Cowan has been teaching at Columbiana Exempted Village Schools since 1996.  She started as the elementary music specialist at Dixon Elementary and became the director of the fifth through eighth grade choirs in 2006 and the high school choir director in 2014.  Also in 2014, Mrs. Cowan returned to her position as assistant instrumental director at CHS - a job that she first held in the 1996 - 1997 school year.

Mrs. Cowan graduated from United High School, where she was field commander of the marching band and choir president her senior year.  She began playing trombone in 5th grade and was a member of the concert and marching bands for all four years of high school. She was also a four-year member of the high school choir and a two-year member of the show choir, Syncopation.  Mrs. Cowan knew in high school that she wanted to teach music!

After high school, Mrs. Cowan attended Grove City College and graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. While at GCC, she played trombone with the marching band, cello with the orchestra, and was a member of the college Chapel Choir and Touring Choir.  Her sophomore, junior and senior years, Mrs. Cowan directed an independent women's choir that earned first place all three years at the All-College Sing. She was also very involved with theater productions throughout her four years, even directing a one-act play for the college One-Act Festival and directing a Children's Theater production her senior year.

In December of 2004, she earned her Master of Music in Music Education degree from Duquesne University.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Columbiana, Mrs. Cowan directed the handbell choir at First Christian Church in Salem for eleven years, the handchime choir at First Christian Church in Columbiana for several years, and sang with the adult choir.

Mrs. Cowan has a wonderful husband and one stepson, Tyler. Her hobbies include reading, cross-stitching and scrapbooking. She enjoys walking and riding bikes with her family on the Greenway Trail.  Her favorite vacation was to Acadia National Park in Maine, but her favorite trip was a short-term mission to Zimbabwe where she worked with an orphanage of the most adorable, loving children imaginable.  She has also traveled to Europe, performing with her alumni choir in awesome venues such as the Notre Dame Cathedral.