ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

MS. KRISTIN MORRIS

Director of Choirs at Chesterton High School 

Kristin Morris is in her sixteenth-year teaching and currently serves as Director of Choral Music at Chesterton High School.  She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Elmhurst University.  Her responsibilities at Chesterton High School include directing three choral ensembles (Concert Choir, Bel Canto, and Camerata), and two competitive show choirs (Sandpipers and Drifters.)  In addition, she also heads the creative team for the musical in which she directs, vocal directs, assists with lighting/set designs and is the costume designer. Ms. Morris is the Music Department Chair, Auditorium Director and Assistant Director for the CHS Show Choir Band. 

Kristin has spent the last seventeen summers on staff at Showchoir Camps of America, serving as their Office Manager, allowing her to connect with over 1000 eager performers and 200 choral directors each summer.  She has also previously worked as a Program Assistant for the world re-known Chicago Children’s Choir.

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MRS. KRISTEN GARRETT

Director of Choirs at Liberty

Mrs. Kristen Garrett is the Liberty Choir Director, and previously taught elementary music for 18 years, with nine of those years as Jackson Elementary's music teacher. Prior to her time at Duneland, Mrs. Garrett taught eight years in a suburb outside of Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Garrett earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Valparaiso University (majoring in voice) and her Master of Arts in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in gifted education from the University of Connecticut. Throughout her career she has led school-wide musicals, directed school and district-wide choral ensembles, worked to create K-12 music curriculum, and served on several district-wide committees regarding instruction and scheduling, in addition to her work with students in the general music classroom.

Mrs. Garrett enjoys traveling, baking, and going on "adventures" (anything from exploring a new park to taking a trip to Costco) with her husband and their son.

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MS. BELLA MARQUEZ

Director of Choirs at Westchester

Ms. Bella Marquez directs the choral program at Westchester Intermediate/Middle School and also serves as the assistant for the Chesterton High School show choirs, the Sandpipers and Drifters. She graduated with honors from Butler University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Choral Music Education. When she’s not sharing her musical passion with students, Ms. Marquez enjoys unwinding with her family, her partner, and her dog, Ozzie.

Returning to the area as a Portage High School alumna, Ms. Marquez is excited to reconnect with the community and share her love of music with the students at Westchester!

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