Karrie Been, Conductor of Primo, has been teaching general music for 16 years, mostly in the Kimberly School district. She is currently teaching at the new Woodland School in Kimberly. Previously, she taught in Franklin, Wis., where she taught elementary music as well as middle and high school choirs and worked as the orchestra conductor of the high school's musical theatre production. Been graduated from Carroll College with a degree in music education and earned her master's degree in music education with a Kodaly emphasis from Silver Lake College. She was the founding chair of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodaly Educators (AWAKE) Children's Choir Festival and served on the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA) choir festival committee as a festival coordinator in Waukesha. She has served Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music by inspiring future music educators, and working as cooperating teacher and practicum advisor.
Contact Karrie Been
Karen L. Bruno is the conductor of Bel Canto, vocal coach for Cantabile, and the artistic director of the
Girl Choir program. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, a teaching certificate
from Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music, and the Master of Music degree from Boston
University. She has taught choral music in the Appleton and Oshkosh school districts, and at an
international school in Senegal, West Africa. She is currently the director of the Lawrence Academy of
Music.
Ms. Bruno serves as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Children and Community Youth Choirs in the North Central Region of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), is a member of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the VoiceCare Network, and serves on the committee advocating the Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) method of teaching. She is a past staff member of the Wisconsin School Music Association's Treble Honor Choir and has conducted numerous clinics for middle and high school choirs. Ms. Bruno has served as repertoire and standards chair, treasurer, and convention registration chair for the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA) and has served as a conductor in its annual Singing in Wisconsin festival. She is a two-time recipient of WCDA's Five-Star Award, a recipient of Lawrence University's Pi Kappa Lambda award for excellence in music education, and was recognized by the Danbury (CT) Music Centre for providing outstanding musical opportunities for youth.
Contact Karen Bruno
Amber Evey Schmidt, conductor of Intermezzo, graduated from Lawrence University in 2005 with a degree in choral and general music education. She student taught in the Appleton Area School District and was awarded the Pi Kappa Lambda Award for excellence in Music Education . While at Lawrence, Evey Schmidt performed with the Women's Choir, Concert Choir, and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Evey Schmidt has been actively involved in the Girl Choir program for many years. She was the manager for Intermezzo for four years and a conducting intern for Cantabile for one year. Evey Schmidt taught elementary general music in Mequon and is now teaching elementary general music in Kiel, Wisconsin. Evey Schmidt is a member of the Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) and the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA). In 2006, she was the chair of WCDA's All-State Children's Choir. Amber has also been a counselor and instructor for the Academy of Music Band Camp where she taught music theory, guitar, and voice.
Contact Amber Evey Schmidt
Debbie Lind, conductor of Cantabile, is thrilled to be joining the Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir
program this year. Ms. Lind is a graduate of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, with a Bachelor of
Music Education degree, vocal and instrumental. She has recently retired from twenty five years of
teaching vocal and choral music in the Appleton Area School District, having served most recently as
Choral Music Director at Appleton East High School. She taught in Omaha, NE, and Schofield, WI,
before coming to Appleton. Ms. Lind has been a clinician for WSMA and a guest conductor for WCDA's
Singing in Wisconsin. She has been actively involved in church music as a choral director, accompanist
and singer throughout her career. She is a member of the VoiceCare Network, Wisconsin Music
Educators Association (WMEA) and the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA). Ms. Lind
has worked and continues to work with future and new music educators, as a cooperating teacher, a
practicum adviser, and a mentor in the AASD new-teacher mentoring program.
Contact Debbie Lind
Patricia Merrifield, conductor of Ragazze, teaches elementary general music in the Appleton Area Schools where she has also taught general and instrumental music at the middle school level. Mrs. Merrifield holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University and teaching certification and Master’s Degree in Music Education with a Kodaly emphasis from Silver Lake College. Previous to entering teaching, Mrs. Merrifield worked in the orchestra management field. Mrs. Merrifield is a past Board member of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodaly Educators (AWAKE), has co-chaired the AWAKE Singing Games Festival, and is a member of the Wisconsin School Music Association and Music Educator’s National Conference.
Contact Patricia Merrifield
Cheryl Meyer,
conductor of Allegretto, received her Bachelor of Music degree from UW-Madison and
joined the Academy in 1992 as a conductor in the Girl Choir Program. A vocal music specialist with the
Appleton Area Schools, she is an advocate for the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance
(CMP) method of teaching. As a member of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association, she has
conducted Singing in Wisconsin Youth Choirs, presented sessions at state conventions and served as
Children’s Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. She is also a member of the Wisconsin Music
Educators Conference and the Organization of Kodaly Educators, serving as a past conductor of the
AWAKE Youth Honor Choir. Currently an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association, Ms.
Meyer also conducts the Camp Choir during the Academy residential summer band camp.
Contact Cheryl Meyer
