Michael Brown is in his eleventh year as a music educator. At Junction City High School, he oversees and directs five ensembles, teaches advanced piano and music theory, co-directs and accompanies the musical each year, and serves as the Performing Arts Department Leader. In his tenure as the head director of vocal music, his students and ensembles have attended KMEA All-State Choir and NAfME National Choir, been invited to perform at KMEA in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, received outstanding ratings at large group and small ensemble festivals, and have had extensive traveling and performance opportunities. His choirs have performed in Carnegie Hall, New York; in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamo Bowl; at 4th Presbyterian Church in Chicago with René Clausen; and at Lincoln Center in New York with Eric Whitacre. He graduated from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in Ohio where he studied voice and piano; and from the Nazarene Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity.

Laura Holliday received her Bachelor of Music Education from Washburn University in 1989. She taught at Jackson Heights Schools for 26 years and is currently in her 7th year at St. Marys Schools in St. Marys, Kansas. Laura has a passion for helping students become independent musicians and loves to share the joy of music with them.

Matthew Schwan graduated from Kansas Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Music Education in 2010. He later earned his MME in Choral Music Education from Wichita State University in the summer of 2020. Matthew is currently in his thirteenth year of teaching in public education. He currently holds certifications in Orff Schulwerk approach, Kodaly approach, and earned his ESOL certification early in his teaching career. His awards include Departmental Distinction Award from Kansas Wesleyan in 2010, Favorite Teacher of the Year for Newspapers in Education 2014, and Outstanding Middle Level Music Educator for North Central Kansas in 2020. Matthew is a part of the amazing staff at Coronado Elementary School where he serves on the vision committee, founder of the After School Music Club, and has students participate in regional and state events. His students have consistently earned superior and outstanding ratings at music festivals around the area, and his middle school choir in Junction City was invited to perform at the 2020 KMEA In-Service Workshop in Wichita, KS. When he is not working with his students, he also teaches private lessons to students across central Kansas. Additionally, he is also the Director of Music at Sunrise Presbyterian Church in Salina Kansas. He especially wants to thank his wife Becky, daughter Lydia, and golden retriever Lily for their continued support. He would also like to thank God, his family, friends, and mentors for nurturing him into the person he is today. He is very honored to be selected as this year's Outstanding Elementary Music Educator award recipient.

Michael Dorst - Principal, Manhattan High School
"Music and the Performing Arts are a vital part of who we are at Manhattan High School. They are a foundation to our students' success, our positive school culture, and our identity. There is school wide support for adding opportunities to expand the arts at our school because we see the value of having a strong Performing Arts department. We are so proud of the accomplishments of the students and teachers of our Performing Arts department. My own children have participated in band, choir, marching band, orchestra, and musicals. There is no other way to replicate the amazing, life changing, experiences that they had while being part of each one of these groups. I am certain my family's own wonderful experiences have been replicated by the thousands of past and present students who have been part of Manhattan High School's Performing Arts. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunities to support and encourage our students and teachers who bring music into our school. Our Manhattan High School Performing Arts makes Manhattan High School and our community a great place to be."