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Dr. Tina Bull Elected President of Oregon Music Educators Association
Dr. Tina Bull, associate professor of music, coordinator of music education and the founder and conductor of Bella Voce, the OSU women's choir, was recently elected president of the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA.) The six year commitment consists of two years as first vice president, two years as president, and two years as past president. This month, Bull completes a seven year commitment on the board of directors for the National Society of Music Teacher Education.
A Dream Come True
Katie Badowski, a 2008 graduate of Oregon State University (B.A. Music), is the newest member of Tops in Blue, an all active duty United States Air Force special unit, made up of talented amateur performers selected for their entertainment abilities.
Badowski, a member of the Air Force Reserves from Detroit, Michigan, saw her first Tops in Blue performance in 1999, when she was already a member of the Army National Guard. That performance inspired her to change branches of the Armed Forces (something that is not easy to do), so that she could one day try out for Tops in Blue.
Each year, thousands compete in talent contests at their Air Force base, and only the most talented move on to higher levels of competition for Tops in Blue. The end result is an elite group composed of 35 of the most talented vocalists, musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians, and dramatists in the Air Force.
It took Badowski six tries and a lot of perseverance. She advanced in the auditions four different times before she was finally accepted as a member this January at the final auditions in San Antonio, Texas. She leaves Oregon this month for three months of rehearsals and will be on tour with the group by mid to late May of this year.
Known as the Air Forces’ expeditionary entertainers; the group’s main mission is to perform for military personnel and their families throughout the world. The enormous popularity of the group has also made them America’s goodwill ambassadors around the globe.
Badowski says there were many aspects of the Tops in Blue mission that were attractive to her.
