Anne Guevara, longtime orchestra teacher at Putnam City West High School and director of The Silver Strings of Putnam City, will be honored with the prestigious Governor’s Arts in Education Award during a special ceremony at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the 4th floor rotunda of the State Capitol. The event is free and open to the public.
The Governor’s Arts in Education Award recognizes an individual, organization, school or group for outstanding leadership and service in the arts benefiting youth and/or arts in education.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Anne for nearly three decades and have witnessed in her an extraordinary passion for teaching. She appreciates the diversity of talents evident in the young people she helps develop. She strives to see that the students touched by her guidance succeed each day. There could not be a better role model for empowerment of unconditional understanding and inclusion,” says Barbara Gabel, Putnam City’s Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator.
In addition to her duties at Putnam City West and with the Silver Strings, Guevara is the orchestra teacher at Windsor Hills Elementary and Western Oaks Elementary, assists at Mayfield Middle School and Western Oaks Middle School, and serves as the department chair for the Putnam City Schools Orchestra program. She is now in her 34th year of teaching overall and 29th year of teaching in Putnam City, the last 24 years of which have taken place at Putnam City West.
As assistant director of Silver Strings for nine years and director for 13 years, Guevara has had the chance to teach high school musicians from beyond her own school. The Silver Strings is composed of musicians from all three district high schools – Putnam City West, Putnam City North and Putnam City High.
Unlike a traditional orchestra, The Silver Strings is a strolling strings group whose members walk among the audience while performing. The group is well-known in Oklahoma, performing across the state at community festivals, banquets, civic organization gatherings, libraries, nursing homes, hospitals and more. The group has also traveled beyond Oklahoma, touring throughout the United States and even performing as far away as France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Italy.
During the summer, Guevara is on the string faculty of the University of Arkansas Summer String Camp. She is a member of the Enid Symphony Orchestra, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra and Oklahoma Strings Quartet and has served as guest conductor for the Northern Oklahoma All District Orchestra and the Northwest Arkansas Honor Orchestra. She is an active freelance violinist, violist and adjudicator.
Guevara was named a 2011 Exemplary Teacher by the Oklahoma Music Educators Association and in 2010 was honored with the Golden Apple Award from the Putnam City Schools Foundation. She was named the Oklahoma Chapter of American String Teachers Association Teacher of the Year in 2006.
Guevara is a member of the American String Teachers Association, the Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education, the Oklahoma Music Educators Association and the American Federation of Musicians Local 375/703. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Auburn University and a master’s degree in education from Oklahoma City University.
Gabel, herself a Governors Arts in Education Award winner in 2000, marvels at Guevara’s teaching ability and energy.
“I believe Anne Guevara was called to be a teacher, and I see her answer that call every day. Her desire and enthusiasm for teaching young musicians is unsurpassed,” Gabel says.
Buster Meeks, the principal at Putnam City West, agrees with Gabel’s sentiments.
"Never has anyone deserved this award more. She is truly a professional," Meeks says.
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For More Information
Steve Lindley, Communications Director
(405) 495-5200, x1204
(405) 812-6119
slindley@putnamcityschools.org