MARY ELIZABETH HENTON
Conductor, Bravo String Orchestra
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Henton is Learning & Partnership Program Manager for the Lexington Philharmonic, Assistant Conductor of the Bravo String Orchestra with the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, and an adjunct instructor at Eastern Kentucky University. She has served the string education community as a public school orchestra director, conductor, private studio teacher, clinician, and music teacher educator for more than 15 years. During 12 years in K–12 public schools, she taught orchestra students from elementary through high school and directed programs in Fayette County Public Schools and at Model Laboratory School. She currently serves on the string faculty for Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts.
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A frequent presenter, clinician, conductor, and adjudicator, Dr. Henton has presented at national and regional conferences of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, Suzuki Association of the Americas, and Kentucky Music Educators Association. Her research interests include musical performance anxiety and self-efficacy, peer mentoring in string education, student voice and choice, and community partnerships in music education. Her work has been published in American String Teacher, Teaching for High Potential, and Kentucky Teacher. She was named the 2023 Kentucky ASTA Orchestra Director of the Year and previously received the organization’s Studio Teacher of the Year Award.
Dr. Henton is Vice Chair of the American String Teachers Association Research Committee and has also served on ASTA’s Community Music Committee. Her professional service includes leadership with the Kentucky Music Educators Association, curriculum work for ASTA’s A Career with Strings Attached, the National Association for Music Education’s Connected Arts Network, and the Kentucky Department of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Revision Committee. She has also served as a guest conductor for regional honors orchestras and as an adjudicator for Kentucky Music Educators Association events.
Originally from Kentucky, Dr. Henton earned a PhD in Music Education from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Music in Music Education and Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University. Her doctoral research examined secondary string students’ perceptions of self-efficacy and its role in mitigating musical performance anxiety.