Dr. Patricia Bourne

Patricia Bourne is a veteran music educator who has taught preschool through graduate-level students over the span of 30+ years in four different states (Kentucky, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Washington). During her tenure as a teacher, Patty has presented workshops throughout the country on topics such as children’s choral and classroom singing, curriculum development, classroom management systems, working with special-needs students, African drumming, assessment systems, and frameworks, to name a few. Patty has guest conducted regional and all-state choruses in multiple states, as well as adjudicated secondary vocal solo and ensembles throughout the Northwest region.

Currently, Patty serves as Coordinator of Music Education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In addition to teaching future teachers, Patty maintains a quarterly-based residency in K-5 schools in the Bellingham area, teaching children at the request of area music educators, often serving on a collaborative team of music and classroom teachers.

A proud native of Kentucky, Bourne received the Bachelor of Music Education from Murray State University (Murray, KY), the Master of Music Education from the University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK), and the Doctorate of Education from Arizona State University. Recently, she was selected the Outstanding Music Educator in the state of Washington and inducted into the Washington Music Educators Hall of Fame. In 2015, she received the Distinguished Music Education Service Award at the Northwest NAfME conference.

Patty is the author of two texts: Inside the Classroom: Teaching the Art with Heart, and Inside the Elementary Chorus: Instructional Techniques for the Non-Select Children’s Choir, both published by Lorenz of Dayton, OH. Patty is active as a member of the teaching and administrative staff for World Music Drumming (Will Schmid, founder), spending many weeks in the summer teaching the WMD Curriculum in a variety of settings throughout the country.