State Leadership

President - Jennifer Lowry

Jennifer Lowry is currently the choir director at Del Webb Middle School located in Henderson, NV.   She is an active member of NAfMe, NMEA, and ACDA.  Mrs. Lowry was co-chair of the NMEA Middle School All-State Choir from 2016-2019 and was the Western Region ACDA Middle School Honor Choir Manager in 2020.  Most recently, Mrs. Lowry was asked to be a panelist for the Junior High Round Table Session at the National ACDA Conference in 2021.  

Mrs. Lowry’s choirs consistently earn Superior Ratings at various festival performances around Nevada. In 2014, Mrs. Lowry’s Concert Choir was the only public middle selected to perform at the Western Division ACDA Conference in Santa Barbara, California.  In 2019, Mrs. Lowry’s Concert Choir was selected to perform at the National ACDA Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Mrs. Lowry is committed to helping her students learn to express their emotions through music in a safe and respectful environment.  Mrs. Lowry knows how important music is and hopes to instill that same passion in her students.  She wishes that each student will continue their love of music into high school and beyond.  

President Elect - Jennie Tibben

Jennifer Tibben (she/her) serves as the choir director & performing arts chair at Damonte Ranch High School in south Reno, Washoe County School District’s Performing Arts Signature High School.   She received her MM in Vocal Performance from UNR in May 1997.  She received her BA from Gustavus Adolphus College, May 1992, with majors in music and biology.

Jennifer is the Artistic Director and conductor of Bella Voce, a select community women’s choral ensemble.  She has received a Sierra Arts Foundation grant for her work as conductor of Bella Voce.  She conducts the adult choir at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.  She began as founding chorus director for the Reno Philharmonic Chorus in June, 2007. She served as Artistic Director for the American International Choral Festival held in Reno, May 2011.

 Ms. Tibben is active in the American Choral Directors Association, serving as the Nevada President-Elect and  R&R chair for Women’s Choirs and as the Western Region Lifelong Learning R&R Chair and Reading Session Co-Chair, and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).  She was chosen to be one of twelve interns for the NATS Summer Intern Program, where she studied with Costanza Cuccaro.  She has completed doctoral classes at the University of MN for the Fall 2005 semester, she studied with Kathy Romey, John DeHaan and Clifton Ware. She lives in Reno with her wife Sharon, is the proud mom of 6 kids, all musicians (with acting, physics, computer science and veterinary science thrown in).

Past President - Michael Polutnik

Michael Polutnik is in his 12th year as director of the Desert Oasis High School Choirs in Las Vegas, NV.

Michael began his teaching career in 1994 after graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Music Education from Montana State University-Billings. Michael taught two years in Montana and three years in Oregon before moving to Las Vegas in 1999. He received his Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Phoenix in 2001. Michael has also taught 11 years at the elementary level and 5 years at the middle school level.

Mr. Polutnik has previously served as the Nevada ACDA and the ACDA Western Division R&S Chair. Michael has been serving on the CCSD High School Honor Choir Committee and as the Instructional Leader/Department Chair for the Desert Oasis HS Performing Arts Department since 2014.

Mr. Polutnik’s choirs consistently earn “Superior” ratings at various choral festivals around Nevada, Arizona, and California. In his first year at Desert Oasis HS, his Chamber Singers were selected for the NMEA All State “Command Performance”. In his second year at Desert Oasis, the DOHS Chamber Singers were invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC under the direction of Eric Whitacre. Mr. Polutnik received the CCSD “Distinguished Educator Award” in 2003, 2016, and 2017 and was a finalist for the “Heart of Education Award” in 2018, 2019, and 2022.

Secretary - Kim Ritzer

Kimberly Barclay Ritzer is in her 31st year as director of the Green Valley High School Choirs in Henderson, Nevada, opening the school in 1991. She is in her 32nd year as a teacher for the Clark County School District. As a graduate of the CCSD, she is proud to have taught her entire career in the district she grew up in.  She is a 1990 graduate of UNLV where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and a 2001 graduate of The University of Phoenix with a Masters Degree in Educational Administration. 

Mrs. Ritzer is currently the Task Force Chair for High School Choir and Facility Chair for the Clark County School District Secondary Fine Arts Programs.  In addition, Kim serves as the Green Valley High School Performing Arts Department Chair and has taught Secondary Choral Methods at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has served three terms as president of the Nevada Music Educators Association and three terms as Nevada ACDA president.  She is currently Past-President of the American Choral Directors Western Division, and Secretary of the Nevada ACDA chapter.

 Under her direction, the Green Valley High School Choirs consistently receive superior ratings at district, regional, state and national festivals. The GVHS Concert Choir performed at the 1998 ACDA Western Division Convention in Reno, the Madrigal Singers performed at the 2005 ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles, the 2009 ACDA National Convention in Oklahoma City, and the 2014 ACDA Western Division Conference in Santa Barbara. In November of 2001, Kim was named the Henderson Chamber of Commerce "Most Outstanding Educator" and in February of 2002, she was named "Nevada Music Educator of the Year.” In November of 2002, Kim was selected as a recipient of the "Clark County School District Excellence in Education" Award. In 2004, she was named “Outstanding Alumni for the College of Fine Arts” by the UNLV Alumni Association and was most recently a finalist in the “Heart of Education” Awards for the Clark County School District in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. Kim was also a 2021 semi-finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.  

Treasurer - David Sonnichsen

David Sonnichsen grew up in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota and graduated from University of Minnesota, Duluth with a Bachelor of Music Education in June of 1999 with dual certification for teaching both choir and band.  After graduation he taught choir and band in Minnesota for four years.  He completed the Master of Music (Choral Conducting) program at The Ohio State University (OSU) in 2005 and moved to Las Vegas to fill the Director of Choirs position at Valley High School.  David teaches choir and music technology, which is a class that introduces students to sound systems, live audio mixing and digital audio recording.  He continues to love working with all the choir, music tech and theater students at Valley helping them to explore and find their voices.  During summers, David enjoys camping and visiting the National Parks with his wife, Deborah and their child, Amanda.

Membership - Dr. Stephanie Council

Conductor, educator, and singer Dr. Stephanie Council is Associate Director of Choral Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she conducts the University Chorale, Chamber Choir, and Argenta (the treble voice ensemble). She maintains a private conducting studio of graduates and undergraduates, and teaches Advanced Choral Conducting, Choral Literature, and Choral Methods. 

An experienced educator at the middle school through adult community levels, Dr. Council is passionate about choral pedagogy related to the development of individual music literacy, collective sound building, and the cultivation of inclusive and affirming learning environments. Dr. Council previously led the choral programs at Simpson College and Mount Holyoke College. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her teaching including the Best New Faculty award given by the Mount Holyoke Student Government Association and the Helen DeVitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching award for courses she taught at Texas Tech University. 

She is a sought-after lecturer in choral music education and conductor of collegiate, high school, and youth honor choirs around the United States, and she was a graduate finalist in the American Choral Directors Association National Conducting Competition. Her most recent engagements include conducting the 2024 Washoe County Honor Choir, 2023 Nevada Music Educators Association All-State SSA Choir, 2021 Pride of Iowa Honor Choir, 2019 Vermont Northwest District Honor Choir, 2018 New Hampshire All-State Treble Chamber Choir. She previously served on the faculty as a conducting fellow at the Summer Choral Festival at Westminster Choir College. She has conducted clinics and honor choirs in Oklahoma, Texas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, Nevada, Michigan, and in various European locations.

A strong proponent of new music, Dr. Council is an active commissioner and performer of new choral works, and she has also had the privilege of working on a number of new operas, serving as the chorus master for Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig at Simpson College in 2021 and world premiere performances of Letters to Lily by Emily Clements in 2023 and Paul Fowler’s Behold the Man in 2023 for Opera Las Vegas.

Council is the founder and artistic director of Desert Singers Las Vegas, a professional-caliber choral ensemble with the heart and dedication of an amateur chorus. The singers are professional performers and music educators based in and around Las Vegas who apply their musicianship and diverse experiences to each project. 

Dr. Council sings professionally with mirabai, a professional women’s ensemble conducted by Dr. Sandra Snow, and the San Antonio Chamber Choir, a professional chamber choir conducted by Richard Bjella. In the past, she has been engaged to sing with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and at the Spoleto Festival USA. 

Dr. Council serves as the College and University Coordinator for Western ACDA, and she is on the board of the Nevada chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). She has served on the board of the Massachusetts chapter of ACDA in the past. 

Council earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and a graduate certificate in early music performance practice from Texas Tech University. She holds a Master of Music with distinction in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College and Bachelor of Music degrees in music education and vocal music performance from Oklahoma State University. 

R&R Chairs

High School SATB                    Matthew Ostlie

Middle School                             Claudine Robinson

Tenor-Bass                                  Ryan Duff

Elementary                                   Thomas Borden

Multicultural                                 Rossana Cota

Music in Worship                   Barry Isbell

Show Choir/Jazz/A Cappella  Lamont Russell

Youth & Student Activities      Anne Stephen

College                                          Joe Svendsen

Newsletter                                    Kimberly Li & Brandon Pierce