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Christa Speed receives Distinguished Service Award from Nebraska Music Educators Association
Christa Speed, orchestra director at Grand Island Senior High School, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Nebraska Music Educators Association (NMEA) at its annual awards banquet on Nov. 19.
Members of the NMEA Executive Board nominated Speed for the award that was given to her during the association's annual conference in Lincoln.
Speed was inducted into NMEA's Hall of Fame in 2008. She and the late Larry Maupin, former high school orchestra director, are the only Grand Island Public Schools teachers who have been selected for the NMEA Hall of Fame and the Distinguished Service Award.
Speed began her career in the Grand Island Public Schools in 1978 as a vocal music teacher and has been a string specialist in the school district since 1982. From 1982 to 2003, Speed assisted with the string program in elementary and middle schools. In 2003, she became the orchestra director at the high school and is also a string specialist in six elementary and two middle schools. She has taught in all schools in Grand Island Public Schools.
She earned a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and a master's degree in cello performance from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In addition to teaching in Grand Island Public Schools, Speed also maintains a private cello studio.
Speed co-directs an elementary string orchestra with musicians from the district's 14 elementary schools. This group meets after school on Tuesdays and performs two concerts annually.
Speed established the "Strictly Strings" Middle School Orchestra Festival in 1987. This event, held annually on the first Saturday in November, brings together more than 200 middle school string players from throughout Nebraska. They rehearse with a guest conductor, then perform a public concert in the evening.
Speed's other accomplishments include:
*Serving as the national secretary and executive board member for the American String Teachers Association from 1996 to 1998.
*Serving as the Nebraska Music Educators Association chair of orchestra affairs from 1992 to 1994 and from 2004 to 2007.
*Serving in various roles with the Nebraska Chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) including president from 1990 to 1992.
*Writing articles that were published in "The Nebraska Music Educator," "The American String Teacher," and ASTA state newsletters in New Mexico and California.
*Receiving the Nebraska ASTA String Teacher of the Year award in 1993, the National ASTA's Citation for Exceptional Leadership and Merit in 1998, and the Larry Maupin Education Award from Moonshell Arts and Humanities Council of Hall County in 2003.
*Playing as principal cellist for the Hastings Symphony and cellist in the Hastings Symphony String Quartet, a professional chamber ensemble.
*Founding the Tri-City Youth Symphony.
*Serving as the 2010 James Johnson Memorial Chair of the Hastings Symphony Orchestra.
*Organizing a tour for the Grand Island Senior High School Orchestra to England in 2005 and to Austria in 2009.
For more information, contact: Christa Speed, Orchestra Director, Grand Island Senior High School, (308) 385-5950, cspeed@gips.org
It is the policy of the Grand Island Public Schools not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, religion, or marital status in its educational programs, activities or employment policies as required by Title VI, Title IX, &Section 504.EOE/AA.