CMFAA User Profile

Dr. Jane Saunders is retired from her role as Arts Chair and music teacher for the Lakehead Public School, where she taught in the elementary and secondary schools of Thunder Bay for 28 years. Following her retirement, Jane instructed and supervised music teacher students at Lakehead University for 8 years. She is a longtime board member of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association.

Jane was a 2010 nominee for MusiCounts Canadian Music Teacher of the Year. From 2000 to 2012, she conducted the Thunder Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra, and has conducted the Thunder Bay Community Band (adult recreational group) since 2019. Although the focus of her classroom teaching was band and strings, Jane enjoyed a great variety of music-making and teaching/learning with her classes, including guitar, choir, musicals, jazz, music festivals and performance tours.
Jane is the Editor of The Recorder, the journal of the Ontario Music Educators Association, and is a member of the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators’ Association. In both of these roles, she works with music teachers and students, and delivers workshops and professional development sessions. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario – H.B. Music Education (1988), the University of Windsor – B. Ed. (1989), the University of Minnesota – Master of Arts (1994) and Lakehead University – Ph.D in Educational Studies (2004).

***I am also comfortable with and experienced in adjudicating school orchestra (strings) and school guitar groups.