Congratulations to esteemed faculty member, Andrew Smouse, who was selected by the St. Mary’s Ryken faculty and staff for the Theodore Ryken Teacher of the Year Award! Mr. Smouse makes a difference in the lives of his students every day and it is great to see that the community values his work!
Mr. Smouse has been teaching at St. Mary’s Ryken since 2011. He received his Master of Music Degree in Wind Band Conducting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Kutztown University. He served as a percussionist/timpanist with the Kutztown University Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and UNLV Wind Orchestra. He currently serves as the Director of Bands and Orchestra and Fine Arts Department Chair at St. Mary’s Ryken. In 2014, he earned the High School Principal’s Associations Novice Teacher of the Year award from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC.
Mr. Smouse has appeared as a guest conductor/clinician with various bands and percussion sections throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and Nevada. He served as a guest conductor of the Kutztown University Symphonic and Concert Bands, Percussion Ensemble, and 35th Anniversary Kappa Kappa Psi Chapter Band. Smouse has served as a conductor of the UNLV New Horizons Band, Symphonic Winds, Las Vegas Summer Community Band, rehearsal assistant for the UNLV Wind Orchestra, and as the conductor of the Bedford Symphonic Winds, a semi-professional wind ensemble based in Pennsylvania. An active clinician, he has presented at the Maryland Music Educators Association, the Southern Maryland Catholic Teachers Conferences and various schools.
St. Mary’s Ryken is a Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory school community operated under the Xaverian Brothers’ sponsorship dedicated to academic excellence and individualized student growth. Students come from many different counties across the region including Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, King George, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties. Each year, approximately 99% of graduates go to college and the Class of 2015 earned $17 million in college scholarships. To learn more, visit smrhs.org.
