Sandy Neel

Sandy Neel, has been the String Sinfonia Conductor for the Patel Conservatory Youth Orchestra for eighteen years, and is currently Director of Orchestras and the 2002-2003 Teacher of the Year at Burns Middle School. Mrs. Neel has taught in Hillsborough County for twenty-four years and her orchestras have consistently earned superior ratings for their outstanding performances in the Florida Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessments. Mrs. Neel graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and received highest academic honors from the College of Fine Arts. Mrs's Neel's principal instrument is the violin and she has studied with Maurice Leysens, Dr. Edward Peador, and Dr. William Hayden. The quality of her string programs were first recognized at Broward Elementary in 1984 when the music program was acknowledged as a Florida Department of Education Music Demonstration School. Mrs. Neel has presented workshops for her fellow colleagues concerning how to teach young orchestra students. She has served as chairman, clinician, and adjudicator for All County Orchestra, FOA Concert Contest, and Solo & Ensemble Festivals in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Brevard Counties. In 2003, Mrs. Neel completed all requirement necessary to become a National Board Certified Teacher in the State of Florida.