Strings Director; Early Childhood Instructor

Bethany Atkinson’s love for music began at an early age. She started playing piano at the age of seven and violin at the age of thirteen. She competed in many music festivals and guild auditions as a homeschooled student. Bethany studied music and graphic design at Oral Roberts University, where she was also concertmaster of the ORU orchestra for two years.

Bethany desires to pass on her love of music to each of her students, including her three daughters – Ella, Nora, and Charlie Sue. Along with her husband, who is also an orchestra director, she is very involved with the music ministry at their church.

Email: bethany.atkinson@heartlandands.org

Locations:  Jenks Strings, Owasso Strings

Band and String Director

Mrs. Blomgren studied music at Wayland Baptist University and plays clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon. She has been an active participant of the Homeschool Band program for ten years. Laurie is a member of both the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony and her church orchestra at First Baptist Church, Ardmore. She is also part of her local community theater orchestra and Ardmore Community Band. All three of her children have been members of the homeschool band program, learning various instruments, and making life-time friends in the process.

Email: mrsblomgren@gmail.com

Locations: Ardmore, Gainesville (TX), Bonham (TX)

Secretary/Treasurer Heartland Homeschool Band and Strings Foundation

Cindy first became involved in instrumental music in 1977 when her father, Tom Rye, the newly hired band director for Davenport, OK public schools, asked her if she wanted to play a glockenspiel that he found in the band closet. She previously played piano, so he thought it would be an easy transition. She enjoyed it, but there was a definite learning curve!  She went on to play mallet instruments there for three years, then at Edmond Memorial and UCO.

She and her husband, Jeff, raised four children, homeschooling each of them at various stages in their lives.  Their two daughters, Mallory and Steffanie, were members of OKC’s original Oklahoma Homeschool band program and loved being in Papa’s band.

With a strong bookkeeping, organizing, and inventory management background, Cindy enthusiastically joined the newly formed Heartland Homeschool Band and Strings Foundation in the fall of 2021.

Band Director
President, Heartland Homeschool Band and Strings Foundation

Mr. Fast is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree. He also earned a Master of Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Mr. Fast has taught in public schools for 28 years: four years in Bethany and twenty-four years in the Putnam City District. He has 4 grown children and plays in the orchestra at Bethany First Nazarene Church. In addition to teaching band, Mr. Fast refurbishes instruments and makes them available to homeschool band students at reasonable prices. He is in his fourteenth year of teaching homeschool bands.

Email: ben.fast@heartlandbands.org

Locations: OKC Band, Shawnee Band

Strings Director

Mrs. Anne Guevara is the retired orchestra for Putnam City West High School, Windsor HillsElementary, Western Oaks Elementary, and the Silver Strings of Putnam City. She also served asthe department chair for the Putnam City Schools Orchestra Program. Guevara has a Bachelorof Arts in Music from Auburn University, and a Master of Arts in Education from Oklahoma CityUniversity. Guevara’s post-graduate studies were in Viola Performance at the University ofOklahoma.

Email: anne.guevara@heartlandbands.org

Locations: OKC Strings, Shawnee Strings

Jazz Band Director

Band and String Director

Denise McClurg Kenna is a graduate of University of Kansas with a Bachelor ofMusic Education degree and University of Oklahoma with a Master of MusicEducation degree. Ms. Kenna has 40 years of public and private school teaching experience in band, choir and string orchestra. She was Teacher of the Year in 1996 and received the Exemplary String Teacher Award in 2015. She also teaches piano, guitar, and strings in her private studio. Ms. Kenna is an EPIC vendor and will begin her 10 th year teaching band and strings with Oklahoma Homeschool Band/Strings at the Stillwater location. She and her husband Mike have fourgrown sons who have families of their own. They enjoy traveling and spendingtime with all their family, especially their grandchildren!

Email: denise.kenna@heartlandbands.org

Location: Stillwater

Mr. Kirby attended Oklahoma Military Academy before transferring to Oral Roberts University where he was a member of the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Pep Band. He was also the student conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and the Pep Band. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education with honors in 1974. He immediately started teaching Band and Strings in Queensland, Australia for two years where he met his wife, Jennifer. He later returned to the United States where he taught band at Inola, OK for two years before accepting a position teaching band in Phoenix, AZ where he taught for four years. While in Arizona, he attained his Master’s in Music Education from Arizona State University. He then went back to Queensland Australia where he taught band for fourteen more years.  He came back to Tulsa, OK where for twenty-one years he taught with Tulsa Public Schools. After teaching in public schools for 45 years, he retired in May 2019.

Mr. Kirby enjoys being a member and playing bass trombone for the Tulsa Praise Orchestra and for the Sounds of Music Big Band.

Email:  JimKirby1975@gmail.com

Locations: Tulsa Band, Aspire Co-Op Band

OHBS Founder and Public Relations
Heartland Homeschool Bands and Strings Foundation Consultant

Mr. Tom Rye has been involved in instrumental music most of his life. He has a Bachelor of Music Education from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of History from the University of Central Oklahoma. With twenty-one years of experience in public school band programs, Mr. Rye has worked in every facet of this arena, from 5th grade through high school. He has personally participated in many university, professional, and church orchestra programs. He is also a charter member of the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony. Mr. Rye has five grown children (three of whom have homeschooled their children) and nineteen grandchildren. He loves working with students and watching them grow in their God-given musical abilities.

Email: 1trye40@gmail.com

Introductory Music

Danita Tippet is a 17 year homeschooling mom of five children, ages ranging from 4-16 years, and the director of the Music Experience class at Central Oklahoma Homeschool Choir. Having begun playing piano for congregational worship as young girl, Danita is delighted to share her love of music with the children of Homeschool Band. She is an active member of First Baptist Church in Edmond where she teaches and sings with the Sparks in Awana and sings in the adult choir. Danita also plays keys for the second Sunday morning worship service. She is excited to learn through play with the children of Homeschool band as they continue to develop their talents.

Email: danita.tippet@heartlandbands.org

Locations: Shawnee