Music Educator of Year strikes a chord with students

LeAnna Willmore, Utah's 1999 Music Educator of the Year, teaches choir and composition classes in Riverton High School's music lab, which she designed. The 29-year educator was the 1998 Jordan Teacher of the Year before winning this year's honor from the Utah High School Activities Association. Willmore is Western Division president of the Music Educators National Conference and past president of the Utah Music Educators Association. She is state bell choir chairwoman and all-state coordinator for choir, band and orchestra. Willmore, who taught in Weber schools 20 years before taking a job at Bingham High, has worked to keep music education alive in the schools, despite repeated threats of budget cuts. "I don't see music as a frill," she said. "It's a basic part of the education, a lifetime pursuit."