ABOUT
The Ontario Band Association is proud to announce its second annual Pre-Service and Early Career Roundtable! This event is designed to target topics of special interest to those at the beginning of their teaching careers. Each May, the OBA invites post-secondary students interested in careers in instrumental and band teaching, and teachers in the first five years of their career from across the province to join in a roundtable discussion with four panelists in similar stages of their careers.
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panelists
PAMINA NEOTE
Pamina Neote is an early-career music educator with the Durham District School Board. Flautist and member of the Ontario Band Association’s Pre-Service/Early Career and EDI Committees. Studied Bachelor of Musical Arts at the University of Western Ontario and completed Bachelor of Education Degree with the University of Ottawa. Currently in an LTO with DDSB at Jack Miner Public School.
Sarah baigent
Sarah Baigent is a graduate of Western university, where she completed her Bachelor of Music, Honours Music Education in 2016, and her Bachelor of Education in 2018. She currently works for the Thames Valley District School Board at Woodstock Collegiate Institute where she teaches high school music and mathematics.
john kim
Youngjin (John) Kim received his BEd (2014) and BMus (2013) from the University of Toronto, majoring in trumpet. John Kim currently holds a position as the band teacher at Runnymede Junior and Senior Public School in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), where the band program annually participates in various music festivals, notably Kiwanis Music Festivals and OBA. He is a trumpet specialist and a conductor for the Studio Band at Music by the Lake (TDSB), conductor of the Etobicoke Youth Band, and a board member for the Hannaford Street Silver Band. As a strong advocate for music education, John Kim regularly attends various events held by OMEA, OBA, and various Wind Conducting Symposiums hosted by University of Toronto and University of British Columbia.
helen geng
Helen Geng has been teaching with the York Region District School Board since September 2018. A graduate from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Helen is an avid trumpet player and currently performs with the Metropolitan Winds of Toronto. She has been a clinician for trumpet and wind band at many schools in the GTA, and for several years, she was a member of the trumpet section and the Personnel Manager of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra. Helen has been an elected member of the TYWO Board of Directors since 2018, currently serving as the chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee. In 2020, Helen was awarded the Ontario Band Association's Conducting Excellence Award for
her work with the Richmond Hill High School Symphonic Winds. Headshot photo credits to Danielle Sum Photography.
