Martin Orchestra Directors
Michael Stringer is the Director of Orchestras at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. He began his musical training at age 10 in Mesquite, Texas where he studied violin in his school’s orchestra. Mr. Stringer is a 2000 graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree.
Stringer has taught at Martin HS since 2006. Previous to being at Martin he was the Director of Orchestras for Midway ISD in Waco, Texas where, in the fall of 2000, he began the Midway Orchestra Program. Under his direction, the program grew from 62 students to well over 300 students enrolled. Mr. Stringers’ orchestras have been consistent winners of the UIL Sweepstakes Award, and have won numerous Best in Class Awards in festivals across the United States. Most recently, the Symphony Orchestra at Martin HS was named to the finals of the TMEA High School String Honor Orchestra Competition where they placed 4th in the State of Texas.
Mr. Stringer currently serves as the TMEA Region V Vice President and
has also served as the TMEA Region VIII Vice President from 2004-2006
and Chair of the Orchestra Division for Region VIII from 2001-2004.
While in Waco he also served as Assistant Conductor/String Section Coordinator
for the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra.
During the summers, he is on staff at The University of Texas at Arlington
Summer Strings Camp and the Baylor University Summer Music Camps. He
holds memberships in the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra
Directors Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association and Phi
Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Michael has a wonderful wife, Sara and a one year old son, Matthew.
In his spare time, he enjoys bowling for his league team “Complete
RCA,” and wrestling with his dog, Rifneerner.
Ann Smith is an assistant director at Martin High School in Arlington ISD. She began her orchestra training in Troy, Ohio at the age of 12 playing the violin. Mrs. Smith continued to study music education at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1994 graduated with a BME. Shortly after graduation Mrs. Smith moved to Texas to begin her teaching career in the Fort Worth ISD, where she taught for four years at Paschal High School and McLean Middle School. During her time at Paschal High School the orchestra earned their first sweepstakes award in more than twenty years.
In 1998 Mrs. Smith began her work at Martin High School. During the
past nine years she has worked with the Philharmonic and Concert II
Orchestras and has earned consistent sweepstakes ratings at UIL orchestra
contest. The Philharmonic Orchestra has also earned division one ratings
at many national orchestra festivals. Recently, Mrs. Smith began work
on her Master of Music Education Degree with emphasis in conducting
at the University of Texas at Arlington. During her studies at UTA,
Mrs. Smith has been awarded the TMEA Graduate Scholarship and the Perry
R. Bass Graduate Fellowship.
Mrs. Smith is currently a member of Texas Music Educators Association,
Texas Orchestra Directors Association and Texas Music Adjudicators Association.
She has served as region high school orchestra coordinator from 2000
until 2004. Mrs. Smith also served as Associate Director of the String
Orchestra with the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth.
Allison King is an assistant director of orchestras at Martin High School and the string teacher at Dunn Elementary School. She began playing the violin when she was one year old and eventually switched to the cello in the fourth grade. She was a member of the University of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra during middle school and high school, and attended the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp as the Governor’s Scholar from the State of California. While at Interlochen, she was the stand-in soloist for Yo-Yo Ma with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Mrs. King came to Texas from California, where she was the head director
of Pioneer Middle School in Porterville. She returned to California
in the summer of 2005 to perform with her former students at Carnegie
Hall in New York.
Mrs. King holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University
of Southern California, where she studied with Ronald Leonard. She also
holds a Master of Music in Music Education and a Certificate in Performance
from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is currently the administrative
assistant to the Texas Cello Academy and is on staff at the University
of Texas at Arlington Summer Strings Camp. In 2005, Mrs. King was inducted
into Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society. She has been
a member of ASTA since she was 12 years old, and is currently a member
of TMEA.