At age 13, EYO Associate Conductor Mrs. Deborah Boos decided to become a music teacher and shared that decision with her school music teacher. Eight years later, that teacher became the district’s Music and Fine Arts Department Head, and Debbie was his first hire. She had recently graduated from Grove City College in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (concentration in flute) where she studied with David Tessmer of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. She began her teaching career in general and instrumental music in her hometown of Wappingers Falls, New York.  She later received her M.S. in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University, studying flute with Sharon Davis. Other flute teachers included Beatrice Keram (Juilliard) and Janet Arms (Hartt School of Music/Juilliard). Mrs. Boos’ conducting teachers include Dr. Douglas A. Browne, Francis E. Pittock, Jerry Nowak, and Dr. Scott Shuler.

A series of family moves brought Mrs. Boos to the University of Findlay in Ohio, where she was an adjunct faculty member and director of the Findlay Flute Choir. While living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she focused on church music and children’s education. A move to northeast Ohio allowed her to teach at Our Shepherd Lutheran School in Painesville, Ohio.  She arrived in Gadsden, Alabama in late in 2009 and quickly got involved in local arts and music education, as choir director at Southside High School, adjunct music instructor at Gadsden State Community College, and Assistant Director of the Oxford Christian School Concert Choir (now Veritas Choir).  She performs with the Gadsden Symphony Orchestra and in her church orchestra. Before joining the EYO staff, Mrs. Boos volunteered time and expertise with the EYO for six years as an ensemble coach for the Red Brick Collective, a rehearsal conductor, a performance tours chaperone, and the vocal coach for the EYO Rock & Roll Christmas productions.

Performing as a freelance musician, Debbie Boos has played in community bands as a guest soloist on flute and piccolo, and in pit and opera orchestras. She enjoys choral singing. Mrs. Boos has taught private flute lessons since age sixteen, when her own teacher asked her to assist in her studio. She has subsequently taught music to preschoolers through senior citizens. She has come to learn that the art of education is rooted in encouraging people to reach beyond what they believe possible. Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Boos enjoys her grandchildren, cake decorating, home DIY projects, cooking, and travel.