President: Laurie Bitters
Laurie is the director of orchestras at Winter Park High School. She oversees the orchestra program consisting of four orchestras, teaches AP Music Theory and IB Music, serves as the advisor for Tri-M Music Honor Society, mentors student interns and first-year teachers, and conducts the pit orchestra for musical productions. Under Laurie’s leadership, the orchestra program has grown from 75 to more than 200 students and has consistently received superior ratings at FOA district and state music performance assessments. Park Philharmonic, under Laurie’s direction, performed at the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta and was named the first-ever Orlando Philharmonic High School Orchestra of Distinction.
President-Elect: Andrea Szarowicz
Andrea Szarowicz is the director of orchestras at Steinbrenner High School in Tampa, Florida, a position she's had since 2019. Prior to Steinbrenner, she taught at Gaither High School, Monroe Middle School, and many elementary schools as a floating Strings Specialist. She earned her Bachelors degree in music at the University of South Florida and a Masters in Music Education from Florida State University. She has been on the Executive Board of the Florida Orchestra Association since 2008, most recently as coordinator of the 11th & 12th grade All-State Symphonic Orchestra. She is an adjudicator for both FOA and FBA.
Past President: Matthew Davis
Matthew Davis is currently Director of Strings at the Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Lakeland, Florida, where he conducts the Harrison Symphony Orchestra and teaches music theory and chamber music. Mr. Davis is also an adjunct instructor at Florida Southern College in Lakeland where he teaches String Methods, and a conductor with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras in Orlando, where he directs the Philharmonia Orchestra. Mr. Davis holds a Master of Music Education from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Indiana University. An active All-State and All-County clinician, Mr. Davis has conducted honors orchestras throughout the states of Florida and Texas. Mr. Davis is a past president of the Florida Orchestra Association and a member of the American String Teachers Association and the Florida Music Educators Association. He resides in Lakeland, Florida with his wife Sarah, a music educator and violinist, and their son Sebastian, a cellist and cat enthusiast.
Executive Director: Cheri Sleeper
Cheri A. Sleeper is the orchestra/band director at Strawberry Crest High School. She has increased her student numbers to three full ensembles, which include string and full orchestra. She was previously the orchestra and band director at King High School. At both positions, her ensembles received accolades for their musical excellence at the district and state levels. Under her musical leadership, she has inspired four future music educators, including the 2019 Florida Teacher of the Year, Dr. Dakeyan Graham. She has been an educator for 37 years in the state of Florida, teaching kindergarten through 12th grade.
