Judith Bush

Judith Bush is currently the Music Teacher Leader for Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln
Nebraska after 32 years in the music classroom. Before moving to Nebraska in 2000, she taught
in Kentucky and Ohio. Judy earned her BME from Northern Kentucky University and her Orff
Certification with Rene Boyer from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music with graduate work
from Xavier University, Miami of Ohio and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff
School of Music. Her experience includes K-12 General and Choral Music, with the majority of
her time focused on Elementary General Music.

She is a member at large of the NAfME General Music Council and tri-chair of the Professional
Development/Partnership Committee and is a Past President of both the NAfME North Central
Division and the Nebraska Music Education Association. In 2016 and 2022, she received the
Bryan R. Johnson Distinguished Service Award from NMEA. Judy has served as executive
board liaison to both the NAfME Innovations and General Music Councils. In addition to her
association work, she served as the New York Metropolitan Opera liaison to Lincoln Public
schools for six years where she was asked to sit on a panel discussion for the Met Educators
Conference in New York.

Judy has been active in creating professional development opportunities for teachers across the
state. A regular guest lecturer at Doane University for senior music education students, she has
also presented on various topics to educators at state, regional, national and international
conferences including the ASCD International Conferences in 2014, 2015 and 2016 with the
Whole Child Network of Schools.

She has collaborated with faculty at UNL to create a Higher Ed Summit and a lab for sophomore
music education practicum students. Judy has also served on an ad hoc committee for the
Nebraska Department of Education and has served as a member of the board of Nebraskans for
the Arts. She has a passion for pre-service and new teachers, working to provide support and
guidance to successfully retain them within the profession.

Judy has written articles for the Nebraska Music Educator magazine, the National Federation of
State High School Associations Music Journal, the Orff Echo and the SmartMusic Blog, and has
recently contributed an essay for a book to be published in the summer of 2023 by Dr. Danni
Gilbert, UNL Glenn Korff School of Music, in addition to her own blog about music education at
musicteachermidlifemusing.blog.