Coty Raven Morris is the Hinckley Assistant Professor of Choir, Music Education,

and Social Justice at Portland State University and a sought-after clinician, speaker,

and composer. She holds degrees from Texas State University and Michigan State

University, where she studied with esteemed mentors. A three time Music Educator

Grammy nominee, Morris is a 2024 and 2025 Music Educator Grammy Finalist and

named one of Yamaha's '40 Under 40' music educators. Morris also serves as a

Chorus Master and Artistic Collaborator with Portland Center Stage, the Oregon

Symphony Orchestra, and Choirs of America.

Previously, Morris directed choirs at Crosby High School in Houston and served

as Outreach Choir Director at MSU Community Music School. Her choirs

consistently earned top ratings at UIL and choral festivals. She has held leadership

roles in ACDA and NAfME and received multiple teaching awards.

A sought-after clinician, composer and speaker, she has headlined for several

ACDA and Nafme state, regional and national conferences. She was recently a

featured conductor of the Texas Music Educators conference, NW ACDA, and

Southern ACDA. Her Choral series with Carl Fischer publishing, Ravensong, features

works composed using her poetry. She has spent over a decade directing summer

camps at Texas State, Northeastern, Lamar, Oregon Repertory Singers, and Blue

Lake Fine Arts.

Morris is a radio host with All Classical Radio and ICAN. She is also the Founder

of Being Human Together, a community promoting inclusivity and mental health in music education—and an avid boxer!

Cristi Miller is highly regarded across the United States as a master teacher, conductor and composer. After graduating from Oklahoma State University, she began her teaching career instructing grades 7-12. She eventually moved to the Putnam City School system in 1989 where she worked in the elementary classroom for 21 years. During her time at Putnam City, she was the co-director of the Putnam City Honor Choir. In 2008, Cristi became a National Board Certified Teacher and in 2010, Mrs. Miller became a part of the Fine Arts Staff atHeritage Hall Schools in the Oklahoma City area where she teaches middle school music. Many of her students have received All-State honors through her leadership and her choirs have maintained superior ratings at statewide contests.

Mrs. Miller’s honors include Putnam City Teacher of the Year, Putnam City “Excellent Educator” Award, Putnam City PTA Teacher of the Year and OMEA Exemplary Teacher. In addition, in 2014 she will be inducted into the OMEA Hall of Fame. Mrs. Miller is frequently in demand as a clinician and director across the United States and Canada. She has numerous choral pieces and books in publication through the Hal Leonard Corporation and has also been the recipient of several ASCAP awards for hermusic. Cristi and her husband, Rick, live in Oklahoma City.

As an innovative conductor, teacher, and vocalist, McKenna Stenson has built a career inspiring students to sing confidently and motivating communities to create lasting change through song. Stenson currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. She conducts Levana, an advanced treble ensemble, and teaches undergraduate choral methods, graduate conducting, and graduate choral seminars. She is an active guest conductor, clinician, presenter, and adjudicator for choirs across the United States and abroad. Stenson has held state leadership positions and presented at state, regional, national, and international conferences, including the 2023 World Symposium on Choral Music in Istanbul. Shewas nationally recognized as a Country Music Association Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence in 2020 and was recently named a National Finalist for both the 2023 American Prize Conducting and Choral Performance Competitions. Before joining the faculty at Florida State, Stenson was an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas, where she served as Associate Director of Choral Activities, conducting the KU Glee Club and Oread Singers. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conductingfrom the University of North Texas, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and dual Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from The Ohio State University. In her free time, Stenson enjoys running, traveling with her son Luka and husband Bryan, and amplifying the voices of women conductors through her podcast conduct(her), which she co-founded with her sister Kyra Stahr.