April Whyte

April Whyte currently pursues a doctorate in music education with a cognate in cognitive psychology and biomechanic kinesiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Whyte received her master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University and her bachelor’s degree in music education from Pacific Lutheran University. She has taught courses on string instrument techniques, intermediate and advanced orchestra literature, music integration in the elementary school classroom, and introductory psychology. Whyte also conducted the OSU non-major community orchestra.

In addition to presenting at state and national music education conferences, Whyte focuses upon research of the attentional functioning and sensorimotor coordination of children that learn to play string instruments. Recently, she collaborated with a team of instructional designers to create supplementary online learning resources for the psychology textbooks of MacMillan Publishing.

Whyte’s conducting vitae includes her role as music director for the Maple Valley Youth Symphony, developing a multi-ensemble youth symphony and coaching staff for the regional communities. She also conducted the Debut Orchestra for the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia.

With a 16 year career as an orchestra teacher in Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, and Washington state, she has served as a clinician and adjudicator for orchestra contests and solo & ensemble events. She also performed for over a decade as a section violist in the Olympia Symphony and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony.