Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Bartlesville High School Choral director Tamara Walker will be awarded the Oklahoma Music Educators Association's “Exemplary Teacher Award.”

Tamara Walker (pictured below) is in her 25th year of teaching. For the last 19 years, she has been a vocal music director for Bartlesville Public Schools. She directs the freshman treble choir, assists with all other choral ensembles, and teaches a creative music class where she developed a curriculum designed to assist students with special needs to experience music in an innovative and unique environment. She served as the head Choral Director at Bartlesville Mid-High School from 2009 to 2015. She is now proud to serve on a choral team of wonderful instructors and dear friends in one school, Bartlesville High School, as Bruins United! She serves on many committees in her school and district. She is an Oklahoma native and graduate of Sallisaw High School.

Walker received a Bachelor of Music Education degree, with an emphasis on vocal pedagogy and choral conducting, from Northeastern State University. She studied graduate choral conducting at Oklahoma State University with Dr. Jerry McCoy. In December of 2012, she completed her master’s degree in education administration at Northeastern State University. Walker is a member of NAfME, OCDA, and OkMEA, in which she was the 2007-2008 OkMEA All-State Choir Chair. Walker’s Treble Choir was selected as an honor group for the 2011 OkMEA Winter Convention.

She served as president of the Northeastern Choral Directors Association in 1999.  She began her vocal music teaching career at Eufaula High School and Junior High and taught five years at Skiatook High School and Middle School. She was honored to fulfill the role of the clinician for the 2008 Southwestern Oklahoma Junior High District Honor Choir, and as the clinician for the Oklahoma Baptist University 2019 Junior High All-State Choir Camp this summer. Walker currently directs the St. James Catholic Parish Choir in Bartlesville where she has served for the last nine years. She has two daughters – Sydney and Sophie.

Exemplary teachers must have completed at least 15 years of active service as a music teacher and/or music administrator and been a member of OkMEA/NAfME for a minimum of 10 years. Recipients have also demonstrated excellence in the teaching of music, as evidenced by competitions, awards, and peer or administrator statements. Exemplary teachers are nominated by their peers, recommended by the OkMEA Awards committee, and confirmed by the OkMEA Executive Board.

The ceremony is a part of the OkMEA Winter Conference and will be held at the DoubleTree in downtown Tulsa in the International Ballroom beginning on Thursday, Jan. 16th, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.