Mary Jane Phillips, a proud product of Texas public schools, is beginning her 21st year of teaching middle school choral music in Texas. She currently teaches at North Ridge Middle School in the northeast suburbs of Fort Worth. Ms. Phillips graduated cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, where she studied with Dr. Ruth Whitlock, Dr. John Large and Ronald Shirey.  She has done additional coursework with Dr. James Jordan of Westminster Choir College.  Ms. Phillips is a frequent adjudicator and clinician around the state of Texas, and her choirs and individual students consistently perform at an exemplary level in state and local competitions.  She has served Region V as both the JH/MS Region Secretary and JH/MS Region Chair, and was a Region V UIL contest chair for 10 years. She is also a past Secretary/Treasurer of the Texas Choral Directors’ Association.  She has presented workshops on the male and female adolescent changing voice, recruiting, sight reading games and sight reading pedagogy for the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Christian University, Texas State University at San Marcos and for the Texas Choral Directors’ Association, Oklahoma Music Educators’ Association, Oklahoma Choral Directors’ Association, Alabama Choral Directors' Association, Connecticut Choral Directors’ Association and the American Choral Directors' Association.  She has been nominated by her students for a BISD Golden Apple Award, Who's Who Among America's Teachers and a Disney American Teacher Award.  Ms. Phillips is exceptionally proud of the fact that several of her former middle school students are choral directors, elementary music teachers, private voice teachers, church musicians, sound engineers or current music majors in college. She is a member of TCDA, TMEA, TMAA, ACDA, PTA and Mu Phi Epsilon. She lives with her incredibly patient sportswriter husband, Troy and precious seven year old daughter,  who is also a budding musician.