Laurie Bitters is enjoying her first year as Orchestra Director at Winter Park High School.  She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from Brigham Young University where she studied cello with Roger Drinkall and private conducting with Dr. Ronald Staheli.  Also, she is a Doctor of Philosophy candidate in music education at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  Before coming to Florida, Laurie was the music director and conductor of Eastman Community Music School's New Horizons Orchestra, as well as of elementary string orchestras at the Hochstein Community Music School.  She has served as a pit orchestra director for more than sixteen musicals. In the past five years, she also taught undergraduate string music education courses at the Eastman School of Music.  Prior to her doctoral studies, Laurie worked for ten years in the public schools of Orem, Utah, where she taught orchestra, choir, and Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory at Orem High School. She also taught music composition for six years and has directed mixed, female and male voice choirs ranging from 20 to 180 people.