Connie McCullough

Active Teacher

  • Region: Viola,Violin Salt Lake
  • Counties: Salt Lake County
  • Accepting New Students: no
  • Instruments Taught: Viola , Violin

Online Presence

About Teacher

<p>Connie McCullough is the Sistema Utah Director at American Preparatory Academy West Valley One Campus.&nbsp; She manages and runs an Afterschool music program where 125 kids receive three hours of free music instruction daily.&nbsp; Mrs. McCullough manages 16 staff members, and 13 are highly skilled musicians.&nbsp; She loves teaching music.&nbsp; She and her partner in Sistema Utah, Trina Christensen, manage Sistema Strings, a performance group.&nbsp; Sistema Strings has performed at many University of Utah sporting events, Afterschool Day on the Hill at the Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake Local Leaders Summit, and side-by-side performances with the Utah Philharmonic and the Draper Philharmonic. With 12 awards, Sistema Utah won Utah Best of State 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mrs. McCullough has been teaching violin and viola for over 27 years.&nbsp; She has been a Suzuki Violin/Viola teacher for over a decade.&nbsp; Her music training is through the University of Utah School of Music, Suzuki training at Institutes, conferences, and workshops, on-the-job training as an Elementary School Orchestra Teacher and Private Suzuki Violin/Viola Teacher, and performing with many different quartets, orchestras, symphonies, and bands.&nbsp; She received her Associate of Science degree from LDS Business College. In January 2024, she will graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Grand Canyon University. &nbsp; She has training in character development (social-emotional learning), trauma-informed practices, and working with students with ADHD, autism, and special needs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mrs. McCullough served on the board of the Suzuki Association of Utah (SAU) for five years, with three of those years she served as President of the organization.&nbsp; She was the conference coordinator for four state-wide conferences for SAU.&nbsp; In 2015, Mrs. McCullough was Chairman of the SAU\'s Celebration IX Concert, where they had over 1300 children performing on nine different instruments.&nbsp; She has taught, headed committees, and spoken at local, national, and international conferences. She won the Builder of the Year award in 2018 from American Preparatory Academy. Connie won two of Utah\'s Best of State Early Childhood Music Education awards in 2022 and 2023.</p>

Experience

Connie McCullough is the Director of Sistema Utah, American Preparatory Academy’s award-winning after-school program, at APA\'s West Valley 1 campus. Her contributions to early childhood education are extensive and best demonstrated through her hundreds of service hours to our school and community.

Connie averages 54 volunteer hours in music education and community outreach each month, totaling about 650 hours total for the year. Her professional and volunteer work helps to improve APA\'s music programs through grant writing, fundraising, and managing grant compliance. Connie also supports our programs locally through staff training and professional development, coaching, coordinating instruments for families in need, as well as scheduling community performances alongside her counterpart, Trina Christensen, at West Valley 2. 

\"ConnieConnie is a fantastic music teacher and brings over 25 years of teaching experience to APA from both public and private settings. She is an advanced active Suzuki Violin Teacher and a registered teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Connie also taught orchestra in the Jordan School District for four years before becoming a program director and violin teacher for American Prep.

We are honored to have Connie McCullough share her love of music education at American Prep and in our community. Please join us in congratulating Connie on her Best of State Award for Early Childhood Music Education. 

Sistema Utah - Multiple Awards

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\"SistemaSistema Utah, American Prep\'s exceptional after-school music program, has proudly received four prestigious Best of State Utah awards in the Arts & Entertainment category for 2023.  The accolades include Community Music Program, Musical Instruments, Children\'s Orchestra, and Youth Small Ensemble.  These awards celebrate Sistema Utah\'s significant impact on the local community and its commitment to offering an extensive array of instruments and musical instruction to West Valley students, despite budget cuts affecting arts programs elsewhere.

Sistema Utah, available at the West Valley 1 and 2 campuses, serves nearly 350 low-income students by providing a free, 15-hour weekly program encompassing group instrument lessons, general music, choir, and homework assistance. Students can choose from a wide range of instruments, such as violin, viola, cello, piano, guitar, flute, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, and bucket band. Under the expert guidance of Sistema Directors Connie McCullough and Trina Christensen, the program supports more than 350 students and 30 staff members.

As the largest non-profit El Sistema-inspired program in Utah, Sistema Utah forms an integral part of the after-school offerings at American Preparatory Academy.  Inspired by the El Sistema movement started by Dr. Jose Abreu in Caracas, Venezuela, 46 years ago, Sistema Utah continues to enrich the lives of students and the broader community through its unwavering dedication to music education.