Colleen Riddle has founded and directed award-winning Elementary Honor Choirs since 1996.  Her Honor Choirs have performed at TMEA, TASB, and have taken top honors at music festivals throughout Texas.  Her individual choir students have been selected to be in the TCDA State Honor Choir for the past twenty years.  She served as the TMEA Elementary Vice-President and State Division Chair from 2014-2015.  Mrs. Riddle has forty-six years of experience in music education with sixteen of those years serving as the Director of Music Education in Aldine ISD.  She founded the Southeast Texas Kodály Certification Program for music teachers in 2006 and is currently a clinician for the program.  Recently she served as a clinician at the TMEA 2020 Convention. Colleen is employed by the University of Houston as a University Supervisor of Student Teachers.

Colleen received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Louisiana State University in 1975, her Kodály Music Certification in 1986, and her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, Mid-Management, and Principal’s Certification from Sam Houston State University in 2000.  She founded and directed the Children’s Music Festival from 2002-2019. In 2020, the festival was renamed the Children's Music Invitational for Elementary Choral and Orff Ensembles. She is a member of TMEA, TCDA, and OAKE.  

Shelley Harrington grew up in a musical family and has been singing in or directing choirs since the age of three. Her first instruments included the violin, piano, and flute but musical theater and singing are her first loves. Shelley graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Music Education degree and began teaching in Spring ISD in 1992. Her choirs and ensembles have been recognized by TMEA, at the Children’s Music Festival of Houston, and with straight First Division ratings at the UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contest.

Shelley was a clinician at the TMEA 2020 Convention.  She currently teaches at Timber Creek in Tomball ISD. Her husband, Tom, is a recently retired band director and they have three adult children and one adorable granddaughter. Shelley is thrilled to work with the many talented singers that will participate in the North Houston Children’s Choir! 

Samantha Mansour is a native of Dallas, TX. who found an early love of music alongside her mother at the piano. She began singing in choir at a young age and continued through college as a member of the SHSU Chorale. She is a graduate of Sam Houston State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education.

Samantha is starting her 14th year of teaching elementary music in Klein ISD at Hassler Elementary. Here she has directed the Hassler Elementary Choir and Orff Ensemble. Prior to Klein, Samantha taught music and choir in Aldine ISD for 10 years. There she served as co-director for the Aldine Children’s Honor Choir from 2014-2018. Her choirs have received top honors including “Most Outstanding Choral Piece” at the Children’s Music Festival of Houston for five consecutive years and were an invited performance group at the 2015 and 2017 TMEA Conventions. Sam directed the NHCC choir for a Nashville record producer on the recording of "Shiloh".  She lives in Spring, TX. with her husband, Bobby and two children. Sam cannot wait to share her love of music with the North Houston Children’s Choir this year!

Originally from Indiana, Andrea Brown has been singing since she can remember.  She comes from a musical family who was always singing, acting or playing instruments together.  Andrea graduated from the University of Evansville with a vocal Music Education degree where she had many opportunities to travel, perform, and learn from amazing musicians. She studied abroad at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England, and attended the Opera festival di Roma music festival in Rome, Italy as part of her studies as well.  

After moving to Texas, she began teaching and singing professionally in the area. She sang with First Methodist Houston church for 7 years and directed their youth choir for 5 years. She also sang, recorded and traveled with the Moses Hogan Singers (3 Seasons) and the Houston Chamber Choir (6 seasons). Before coming to Kuehnle Elementary in Klein ISD, Andrea taught 6th grade choir in Aldine ISD for 16 years. She is in her 22nd year of teaching and loves to travel, cook and hang out with her amazing husband and three daughters.  

Jeanna Villanueva, North Houston Children’s Choir accompanist and vocal director, is actively involved in collaborative work with choirs, as well as vocal and instrumental soloists in Houston. She teaches Lower School Music and Choir at St. John's School.

Jeanna graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Music in Musicology. She moved to the U.S. to serve as worship and music director at Willow River Church. She is now staff pianist at St. Cuthbert Episcopal Church. She has performed as an alto chorister with the San Miguel Master Chorale, Houston Cecilia, Houston Choral Society, and Houston Symphony Chorus. Jeanna currently sings with the Casulana Women's Choir of Houston.

Rachel Hamann grew up in Klein ISD. She knew she wanted to become an educator after spending countless hours in her mother’s 1st-grade classroom, but it wasn’t until she met her high school orchestra director that she knew she wanted to teach music. Rachel graduated from Sam Houston State University with her Bachelors in Music Education and her Masters in Educational Leadership. She taught in Klein ISD for 9 years, including 4 years at Haude Elementary, where both she attended school and her mother taught. This school year will be her 3rd year teaching at Creekview Elementary in Tomball ISD. 

Rachel has completed all 3 levels of the SETX Kodaly Certification program and is looking forward to leading the North Houston Children’s Choir in some exciting folk games and dances. 

Terri Nelli is a native Texan who moved to Houston to begin her teaching career in 1997. This year marks her 28th year as a music teacher in the greater Houston area. 

Terri graduated from East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas in 1996 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, All-Levels.  While at E.T.B.U., she studied voice and was a member of the University Singers, Concert Choir, and Chapel Choir. Her experiences with these choirs helped Terri achieve a high level of success during her 22 years at Aldine ISD.  As a 5th-grade music teacher, Terri’s performing groups received many awards at the Children’s Music Festival of Houston and in 2009, her Orffestra was an invited ensemble at the TMEA Convention.   

Terri is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the Organization of American Kodály Educators. She is Kodály and Level I Orff certified. Terri has served as a mentor teacher, co-authored the 5th-grade music curriculum for Aldine ISD, and has both hosted and presented numerous clinics and in-services for Aldine ISD  She serves in a leadership position within her church’s music ministry and loves to cook, bake and lead a healthy lifestyle. Terri currently lives in Tomball, Texas with her husband Mike and a few four-legged kids. She teaches music at Willow Creek Elementary in Tomball ISD.