Kathryn Briggs has been teaching music for over 20 years and has been conductor of the University of Portland Bel Canto treble ensemble since 2014. Her specialty is treble choirs and treble choir literature. Ms. Briggs was awarded the 2016 Oregon ACDA Podium Award for her contribution to the choral arts, was honored as a finalist in the OnPoint Excellence in Teaching Awards in 2011, and was the Mt. Hood Conference "Advisor of the Year"in 2009. Her research on movement in the choral rehearsal was published in the ACDA Choral Journal (Vol 52, No. 5), she has authored lesson plans for NAfME and VH1 Music Studios, and she has presented at regional and state NAfME and ACDA conferences.
Her award winning choirs have performed at both ACDA and NAfME conferences, various venues across the country, and in Europe, highlighted by the honor of twice being invited to perform in the White House for President Obama and the First Lady. She also conducts and teaches at St. Mary’s Academy in downtown Portland and is the current President of the Oregon Music Education Association. She has a BM in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a MM in Music Education and Choral Conducting from the University of St. Thomas. It is Ms. Briggs' lifelong dream to meet Julie Andrews.
