A violinist and veteran teacher, Sabrina E. Howard is the director of orchestras at Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, NC, where she teaches students in grades 5 through 12. She also currently serves on the faculty of Wingate University as an adjunct educator, teaching string methods classes, coaching the string Chamber ensemble, and teaching studio lessons. After serving sixteen seasons as the music/educational director for the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra she is now in her first season with the new area Southern Piedmont Youth Orchestra. This orchestra is designed for high school students from the Charlotte metro/Union County areas who are seeking an additional full orchestra experience. Mrs. Howard previously served as the director of orchestras at Mt. Tabor High School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Winston-Salem. She also taught at Independence High School and South Charlotte Middle School in Charlotte, as well as at Eastside High School, Greenville Middle School, and Northwood Middle School in Greenville, SC. During her thirty-eight-year career, Mrs. Howard’s orchestras have received superior ratings at both state and regional competitions, and they have performed in Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Williamsburg, Washington, D.C., and Toronto, Canada. Mrs. Howard earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1989 and a Master of Music Education degree from the University of South Carolina in 1994. She has served as chair of the Orchestra Division for the North Carolina Music Educators Association, as chairperson of the Western Region Orchestra from 2006 to 2016, and currently serves as chair of the NC Honors Orchestra Scholarship Committee. In 2005, she achieved National Board Certification and has since maintained that certification. In 2007, she was named North Carolina’s Western Regional Orchestra Director of the Year. In 2012, she was selected as the Charlotte Latin School’s Flemm award winner for outstanding teaching, and in 2022, she was recognized by the NC Music Educators Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also served as guest clinician/conductor and adjudicator in both North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia for All-County, All-District, and regional orchestras. Her professional memberships include the National Association for Music Education and the American String Teachers Association. As a professional musician, Mrs. Howard has performed with the Meridian Symphony (Mississippi), the Port City Symphony (Mobile, Alabama), the Greenville Symphony (South Carolina), the Asheville Symphony (North Carolina), the Union Symphony Orchestra (Monroe, North Carolina) and the Rock Hill Symphony, (South Carolina). Mrs. Howard resides in Matthews, NC, and has one son, who is a Junior at Virginia Tech, and a very grumpy cat named Charlotte.