Mrs. Katie Gerrich, MEd, is the Director of Choirs at McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona.  She has been teaching in Tempe for 23 years, the past 20 years at MHS. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Masters in Education/Human Relations, both from Northern Arizona University. While in her undergrad at NAU, she served as President of the Shrine of the Ages Choir, and studied under the direction of Dr. Edith Copley, Dr. Alan Rieck and Mrs. Sally Hanson. Katie has served as the chair for both the Arizona Southwest Regional Choir and the Arizona All-State Jazz Choir. She currently serves as the President for the Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. Mrs. Gerrich is often requested as a guest director, clinician, and collaborative pianist throughout the state.  She lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and 8-year-old daughter.

Julia Higgins has been the choir director at Esperero Canyon Middle School in Tucson for the past 21 years. Her choirs have performed twice at the Arizona Music Educators Association Conference and consistently receive Superior ratings at state choral festivals. In 2015, Julia was named “Teacher of the Year” for the Catalina Foothills School District.

Julia has conducted several honor choirs, including the AzACDA Cantaremos 7-9 Treble Choir,

Arizona Jr. High All-State Treble Choir, and several district honor choirs. She has also been a mentor teacher for over a dozen student teachers and several practicum students from the U of A and NAU.

Julia was an Associate Conductor for the Tucson Girls Chorus for five years. As a performer, she has most recently sung with the Arizona Repertory Singers, conducted by her husband Ryan Phillips, and also performed with the Grammy-nominated True Concord Voices and Orchestra for nine seasons. She is also the Director of Contemporary Music at Northminster Presbyterian Church.

Julia enjoys traveling, going to Costco, doing the NYT crossword, and spending time with her husband and their four kids.