Dr. Ruth Ann Debrot was born in Rockford, Illinois. A life-long learner, Debrot completed a
BA in Music from The University of Mississippi. Debrot earned an MA in Vocal Performance at The City College of New York. After becoming a music educator, Debrot attended The Boston Conservatory and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she completed teacher certification in music education. Debrot obtained her level I teaching certification in Orff Schulwerk at the Eastman School of Music. Most recently Ruth earned a doctorate in Music Education from Boston University.
In addition to teaching and performing, Ruth is a well-known clinician and researcher. Debrot has presented her research at the Mayday Colloquium 29 and at The Desert Skies Symposium. Debrot is a featured clinician on the NAfME Academy: Professional Development Webinar Series. In addition, she has presented numerous workshops for the American Orff Schulwerk Association and has presented for the Cleveland, Connecticut, Florida, New England and New York Chapters of AOSA.
Publications include The Journal of Popular Music Education, The Arkansas Segue, The Orff Echo, MENC’s Spotlight on General Music, the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal and The Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools. Academic honors include the Lowell Mason Award, The SGMM Award for Excellence in General Music and The MMEA Distinguished Service Award.
Debrot has held university appointments at The City College of New York and University of Massachusetts Lowell. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Boston University. A majority of Ruth’s time is spent as a full-time music specialist for the Sharon Public Schools in Massachusetts, where she joyfully teaches chorus, treble choir, a cappella, Xcaliber (a boys’ choir), general music and jazz band to students in grades six through eight.
BA in Music from The University of Mississippi. Debrot earned an MA in Vocal Performance at The City College of New York. After becoming a music educator, Debrot attended The Boston Conservatory and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she completed teacher certification in music education. Debrot obtained her level I teaching certification in Orff Schulwerk at the Eastman School of Music. Most recently Ruth earned a doctorate in Music Education from Boston University.
In addition to teaching and performing, Ruth is a well-known clinician and researcher. Debrot has presented her research at the Mayday Colloquium 29 and at The Desert Skies Symposium. Debrot is a featured clinician on the NAfME Academy: Professional Development Webinar Series. In addition, she has presented numerous workshops for the American Orff Schulwerk Association and has presented for the Cleveland, Connecticut, Florida, New England and New York Chapters of AOSA.
Publications include The Journal of Popular Music Education, The Arkansas Segue, The Orff Echo, MENC’s Spotlight on General Music, the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal and The Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools. Academic honors include the Lowell Mason Award, The SGMM Award for Excellence in General Music and The MMEA Distinguished Service Award.
Debrot has held university appointments at The City College of New York and University of Massachusetts Lowell. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Boston University. A majority of Ruth’s time is spent as a full-time music specialist for the Sharon Public Schools in Massachusetts, where she joyfully teaches chorus, treble choir, a cappella, Xcaliber (a boys’ choir), general music and jazz band to students in grades six through eight.
Dr. Kelly Bylica serves as Assistant Professor of Music Education at Boston University where
she teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Originally from Chicago, Kelly
taught middle school and K-8 general and choral music, and she has served on the teaching
faculty of several community-based youth music programs in both Canada and the United States.
She has presented and published her work on critical pedagogy, curriculum and policy, middle
school musical experiences, and music teacher education both nationally and internationally.
Kelly holds degrees from The University of Western Ontario (PhD), Northwestern University
(MM), and Valparaiso University (BME) and you can learn more about her work by visiting
www.kellybylica.com. She is very excited to be joining the Play On Music Festival Team!
she teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Originally from Chicago, Kelly
taught middle school and K-8 general and choral music, and she has served on the teaching
faculty of several community-based youth music programs in both Canada and the United States.
She has presented and published her work on critical pedagogy, curriculum and policy, middle
school musical experiences, and music teacher education both nationally and internationally.
Kelly holds degrees from The University of Western Ontario (PhD), Northwestern University
(MM), and Valparaiso University (BME) and you can learn more about her work by visiting
www.kellybylica.com. She is very excited to be joining the Play On Music Festival Team!
Nicholas Patrick Quigley (he/they) teaches elementary general music and band in Randolph, Massachusetts. His pedagogy is aimed at empowering expressivity and creativity, while addressing the intersecting issues of social injustices and climate change. This is enacted through praxial curricula integrating music within multimodal arts processes, centering creators from historically excluded groups, and negotiating the balance of anthropocentric and ecocentric philosophies.
Prior to joining the Randolph Public Schools, Quigley worked with students across the K–12 spectrum in various settings; including the UMass Lowell String Project, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Somerville (MA) Public Schools, and Fall River (MA) Public Schools. While teaching in Fall River, they served beyond the classroom as a member of the district’s Diversity and Equity Joint Labor-Management Committee, and as a member of the Fall River Educators Association Board of Directors. In addition to teaching and making music with children, Quigley is a composer who has released six albums, and a researcher whose writing has appeared in the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music, and the Journal of Popular Music Education.
Prior to joining the Randolph Public Schools, Quigley worked with students across the K–12 spectrum in various settings; including the UMass Lowell String Project, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Somerville (MA) Public Schools, and Fall River (MA) Public Schools. While teaching in Fall River, they served beyond the classroom as a member of the district’s Diversity and Equity Joint Labor-Management Committee, and as a member of the Fall River Educators Association Board of Directors. In addition to teaching and making music with children, Quigley is a composer who has released six albums, and a researcher whose writing has appeared in the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music, and the Journal of Popular Music Education.
Tom Westmoreland taught Instrumental Music in Massachusetts from 2004-2020. He earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education from James Madison University (Cum Laude) and a Master of Music Education from Boston University. He is currently a chair of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association's Innovations Council and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Committee. He and his husband own the Brasswood Inn in Provincetown, MA where they actively uplift diverse voices through their Porch Concert Series during the summer months.
