April Meek, Music and Dance Teacher
Bachelor of Music Education, University of Arizona, Magna Cum Laude; Masters in Health Services Administration, Medical University of South Carolina.
Music Training: First formal training was in the Second Presbyterian Children’s Choir at age 7 and at age 9 on the piano; Continued study in voice and on various band and orchestral instrument throughout school and in college; Received seven years of private instruction on the guitar as an adult.
Teaching experience: Certified music teacher in private and public schools in South Carolina and Arizona, including director of the music program at Valley Union High School, Elfrida; Began offering private music instruction in college and have continued to this day.
Performance experience: Performance accomplishments include first chair in the Charleston Youth Band, first chair in the South Carolina All-State Band, first chair in the Stetson University Band and the University of Arizona Bands and receiving recognition for superior performance at the high school and college level; Have performed in many groups through the years as a vocalist and instrumentalist, most recently in the Desert Swing Band and the Cochise College Jazz Ensemble.
Dance Training: First classes were at the age of six, studying ballet and tap. Later study included training in jazz, pantomime, modern, and hip-hop. Studio training included the Joan Simmons School of Dance, Charleston , SC, the Charleston Ballet Company, Rudy Jenkins Ballet School in Houston, Texas, and the Dance Gallery Conservatory, Tucson, Arizona. Outstanding teachers and choreographers — George Zoritch, formerly of the Ballets Russes and Broadway musical and Hollywood movie fame; Stephanie Stigers, ballerina and choreographer with the Israel National Opera, Radio City Ballet Company and other notable companies; Terry Ellen Shields, co-director of the Dancers Studio and the Boston Festival Ballet in Massachusetts and member of the Dance Faculty at the Boston Conservatory of Music, Boston University, and the University of Alabama in Birmingham; Vince Patterson, who later was choreographer for Michael Jackson.
Teaching Experience: Began teaching and choreography for high school productions; Teaching work has been in numerous private studios, public schools, and other settings, as well as directing productions; Started the first dance program for credit at Valley Union High School; Created and taught a dance program at the Elfrida Community Center for nine years; Currently Director of Magna Performing Arts of Arizona, LLC.
Performance experience: I Performed professionally as part of the Tucson Dance Gallery Company; Also, company work with the France Theater of Dance; Extensive performance work in various settings through the years.
Ash Creek School 