2016 Presenters

Sharla Dance

(Primary Music)
Sharla Dance has long been a favorite presenter at our workshops. She loves to teach children’s music. She is currently writing a book, “To Teach a Child a Song,” and hopes to include principles and techniques that have worked well in the last 25 years of teaching. Her Bachelor of Music Education degree at BYU was a good start for post graduate studies in How the Child’s Brain Learns Music. Sharla is Kodaly and Orff Level trained, and she is currently studying how to teach children through improvisation at the piano with Forrest Kinney. She combines brain research, teaching research, and good plain fun as a way to teach teachers in her workshops. Her favorite workshops are those that combine gospel truths with the power of music to help each of us learn.

Sharla has conducted a 90+ voice stake youth choir for the past 10 years (14 to 18 years old), and has also served as a regional choir director. She has taught private voice lessons for 20 years, and sneaks in those vocal principles to rehearsals to help her choirs. Sharla has 5 children and an incredibly supportive husband. They live in the Seattle area.

Nancy Bair

(Music and Autism)
Nancy graduated from Willamette University with a Bachelor of Music: Music Therapy. She is a board certified music therapist (MT-BC) and works primarily with Alzheimer and stroke patients. She is also a certified Kindermusik presenter and State of Oregon certified Behavioral Specialist. In addition to music therapy, Nancy also teaches private violin as well as middle school orchestra. She has played with many orchestras and small chamber ensembles throughout her life. Nancy has had many music callings including Primary chorister, Ward choir director, and she is currently serving as the Relief Society chorister in the Springville Ward where she resides with her husband and two daughters.

Tara Burke

(Teaching Young Children Music in the Home)
Tara Burke has lots of experience with kids having grown up the oldest of 11 children in Dundee, Oregon. She currently resides in Hillsboro as the mother of five children ages 13 to 21. She taught all of her children music at an early age with 3 ½ being the youngest. She and her kids make up a string quartet with piano accompaniment. Tara was awarded a music scholarship on violin to Ricks College. She served a church mission to Germany playing her violin along the way. Tara has a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Fox University and currently teaches private violin lessons. She and three of her daughters perform with the Portland Choir and Orchestra and are often asked to play for weddings, socials, and church events.

Julie Higgins

(Hymn Sing)

Laurey Lee

(Choral Reading)
Laurey first learned to sing harmony while riding on a bus to girls’ camp at the age of 12. She was mesmerized and her singing partner became her new best friend. She sang in a quartet in high school and in small groups at BYU. She was a music teacher for several years at a local preschool and she has served as Primary chorister, ward music chair, and has been her ward choir director for 25+ years. She is a mother of six children and grandmother of 15 and lives with her husband in Keizer, Oregon. Laurey says she has been inspired by the Portland Regional Music Workshop for many years and is now delighted to be directing the choral reading session for the first time. She is excited to share some amazing music with you and hopes you love it as much as she does!

Eric McKirdy

(Organ Secrets: Registration, Pedaling for the non-organist, Playing the Hymns with Power)
Eric McKirdy began playing the organ at an early age, and pursued it as a major in college, studying at the University of Oregon with Dr. Barbara Baird. Since that time, he has been honored to perform throughout the United States and Europe, both as a soloist and as organist for several choirs. He has written a number of arrangements for choir and organ, and for the last four years has taught extensively at the Portland Regional LDS Music Workshop. Eric serves on his chapter’s board of directors of the American Guild of Organists. He and his family live in Albany, where he recently completed his twentieth year as ward organist.

Tom Pixton

(Basic Conducting)
Tom Pixton has directed community and church choirs over a period of 35 years. He more recently founded and directed the West Linn Community Chorus for 6 years. Tom studied choral conducting at BYU, he has served as Stake Music Chair in three stakes and he regularly attends ACDA (American Choral Directors’ Association) choral workshops for continuing education. A lifelong musician and father of seven musically accomplished adult children, Tom masquerades daytimes as a lawyer but keeps a keyboard and banjo in the office.

David M. Thomas

(Conducting Performance Class)
David Thomas received a Doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from Rimksy-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg, Russia. Master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Brigham Young University. A baritone, he holds a high commitment to healthy vocal production in the choir. He is the music director and conductor of Portland Mormon Choir and Orchestra, and co-director of Hoffman Academy of Music. He enjoys singing with his wife Emily (Soprano) and spending time with their 4 children.