Deborah Baker Monday

Deborah Baker Monday (ASCAP) is a retired string educator after completing a 25-year tenure in the award-winning Logan City, Utah orchestra program. She received her B.M.E. Magna Cum Laude, from Florida State University an emphasis in string education. She was awarded an academic fellowship to attend the University of Alabama where she received her M.M. in Composition. During that time, she was a bassist with the Meridian Symphony and the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies at Louisiana State University where she received the Chancellor’s Award to participate with the LSU Symphony Orchestra under the direction of James Yestadt. She studied theory and composition with Harold Schiffman, John Boda, Frederic Goossen, Paul Hedwell, and Dino Constantinides. Ms. Monday continued to be an active bass performer when she moved to Utah. After completing the coursework and passing the written and oral portions of the doctoral exams, she was hired to teach in the Logan City School District as a low string specialist.

Throughout her tenure with Logan and beyond, she pursued her interest in composition and arranging for educational strings and became published. Ms. Monday has over 175 original and arranged works with five publishing companies. Many of her published works have been honored as J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice selections. They have been selected for many state required music lists for festivals and contests. She has received awards for Outstanding Elementary Educator and Superior Accomplishment from UtahASTA and UtahMEA respectively. In 2006 and 2011, Ms. Monday was the winner of the UtahASTA Composition Contest. Serving as a composer and arranger of educational music has been a rewarding part of her career while she and her husband Bill, have raised four amazing children.

Ms. Monday has presented at many state music conferences throughout the United States, as well as numerous national ASTA conferences, The Midwest Clinic, and the prestigious Ohio State String Teacher Workshop. She is active as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator, and has numerous commissions for her work. Her studies in composition and experience in string teaching combine to make her one of the leading contributors to the repertoire for young string players.