Rhonda McRorie
Independent Scholar, Manitoba, Canada
Canada

Rhonda McRorie began her teaching career in Brandon, Manitoba, after receiving undergraduate degrees in teaching and music education at Brandon University. After accepting a teaching position in elementary music in the River East School Division in Winnipeg, she became involved with professional organizations, such as the Manitoba Choral Association, the Manitoba Music Educators Association, and the Manitoba Orff Chapter, as well as performance ensembles, such as the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, Faith and Life Choir, Manitoba Opera Chorus, Winnipeg Singers, and various church choirs. Early in her career, Rhonda composed and recorded two albums, Freedom in My Soul and Better Tomorrows. With a colleague, she staged Annie (1985), generating $10,000.00 for World Vision, and later co-produced Better Tomorrows (1988), an original musical based on a true story, generating $7,000.00 for the Childrens Cancer Fund. In 1981 Rhonda was invited to teach in the West Indies in summer programs. These exploits facilitated the composition of an original musical drama about Neviss history for their independence celebrations. In 1991, she took a two-year leave of absence to teach Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 music in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and produced Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat and Grease. In 1993, Rhonda resumed her teaching career in Winnipeg and completed her ME at the University of Manitoba, focusing on creativity and musical drama.