pARTnerschools

Parker Elementary School and Sinclair Elementary School

• 

  Teacher

  Mariana Simpson

  Marianna Parnas-Simpson graduated with a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Russia. to the United States.  Since 1999 Ms. Simpson has taught at Parker Elementary School, a Houston ISD Magnet school for music. In 2005, she was named Teacher of the Year by her fellow teachers at Parker Elementary.   In 2006, Marianna founded Treble Choir of Houston, a choral ensemble for young women, grade 6-12. Her choirs have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall, in Jones Hall with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, at the National American Choral Directors Association Convention, at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, Organization of American Kodally Educators, American Guild of Organists multiple times. From 2008 to 2010 Ms. Simpson served as the Artistic Director of the summer program for the American Boychoir in Princeton, NJ.  Ms. Simpson is in high demand as a clinician and conductor of the state honor choirs, festivals and workshops in the United States and internationally. Additionally, Marianna is a founding member of the Houston Chamber Choir, 2020 Grammy Award Nominee and Margaret Hillis Award recipient, professional choral ensemble. She recorded 5 CD’s on MSR and SIGNUM CLASSICS labels.

• 

  Teacher

  Nicole Catoire

  Graduate from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nicole Catoire has been a choir director and music educator for over 7 years and earned several teaching accolades. She is a member of Texas Choral Director Association and Texas Music Educator Association, where she has previously presented clinics at their conventions. Currently the music specialist at Sinclair Elementary in Houston ISD, but you can also find her on the stage of Jones Hall with the Houston Symphony Chorus.