The presenters will discuss reasons why Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is so important at this time of recovery and healing from the COVID pandemic., along with ways to recognize when students or staff may be suffering. Additionally, the presenters will provide strategies for implementing SEL competencies to music classrooms that encourage nurturing an atmosphere of empathy, cultural responsiveness, and equity.
Peter Warshaw
- Biographical Information
Peter J. Warshaw is the Fine Arts Director for Leander ISD. He received the TBA Lifetime Administrator Award in 2016 and was named Music Administrator of the Year by the Texas Music Administrators Conference in 2014. Previously, Mr. Warshaw served as the Coordinator of Fine Arts in Bryan ISD, as well as Director of Bands at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, TX from 1993-2002. During his tenure at Pearce, the band performed twice by invitation in Carnegie Hall, was awarded the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2000, and was selected as the TMEA Class 4A Honor Band in 2001. He is a life member of the International Percy Grainger Society and received the Grainger Medallion in 1998, in recognition of his distinctive contribution to the music of Percy Grainger. Under his leadership, Leander ISD fine arts programs annually present district-wide events showcasing the work of student artists and performers, and LISD groups have performed at TMEA, TBA, WIBC, and ACDA conventions, the Cambiata Institute of America, and the Midwest Clinic. Mr. Warshaw is a frequent presenter at TMEA, TBA, CEDFA, the Midwest Clinic, and the Sam Houston State University Center for Music Education, and has served as a guest lecturer in music education and in sociology at Sam Houston State University and The University of Texas at Austin. He is in great demand as an adjudicator, clinician, and speaker throughout the state and is a published writer, music transcriber, and poet.
Dinah Menger currently serves as the Director of Vocal and Elementary Music for the Fort Worth ISD, overseeing 134 music programs. Prior to her appointment in Fort Worth, Dinah was a conductor/lecturer at Baylor University from 2013-2015 and the Choir Director at Arlington High School in Arlington, Texas from 1995-2013. Choirs under her direction performed at the 2005 and 2009 TMEA Conventions and at the 2007 and 2013 national ACDA conventions. Under her direction, the Arlington High Chamber Singers were the winners of the 2010 American Classic Madrigal Festival and were chosen for and performed at the 2013 Kurt Weill National HS Honor Choir Festival at Carnegie Hall.
Advocating and empowering Texas music educators and students is a passion and commitment that has driven her career. Roles in statewide music organizations include the Past President of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Past President of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and past chair of the UIL Prescribed Music List Committee. Dinah currently serves on the board of the Texas Music Administrators Conference as President.
Dinah is a frequent UIL judge and Region Clinician. Dinah received her BFA from the University of Arizona and her Masters in Conducting from Texas State University.