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A veteran of 37 years in public school music education, Marcia has directed successful music programs in Connecticut, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Nevada. For 14 years, she served as Coordinator of Secondary Fine Arts for the Clark County School District—the nation’s fourth largest—supervising the fastest growing Music Education Program in the country. Her expertise in recruitment and retention strategies is evidenced by the fact that she led the district’s elective Secondary Music Education Program to a total class count of over 55,000 in 56 middle and 38 high schools. Her greatest pride was in knowing that all of the students in each of the district’s secondary schools were provided with an equal opportunity to study a wide variety of curricular offerings in music, theatre, dance and the visual arts. She is a past recipient of Disney’s National Performing Arts Teacher of the Year Award.
Marcia now serves as president of Music Education Consultants, Inc., a consortium of music education professionals which works with a variety of educational organizations, arts associations, and school districts to foster the growth and breadth of standards-based, articulated music education programs. In 2016, Neel was named Senior Director of Education for Yamaha Corporation of America and subsequently, a Yamaha Master Educator. In her role as Education Advisor to the Music Achievement Council, a 501(c)(6) organization whose sole purpose is to assist directors in recruiting and retaining students in instrumental music programs through effective professional development programs, Marcia has provided innovative and engaging sessions and in-services in 41 states. As part of the MFA family, she contributes articles on a regular basis to be shared in MFA and BOA publications. She is also highly regarded for her advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national levels via her participation in the NAMM Foundation’s annual D.C. Fly-in. In addition to past leadership positions within NAfME and ACDA, Marcia currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Percussive Arts Society.