Sue Orrell

Sue Orrell holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University in Deland, Florida; a Master of Music degree from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Houston (Texas). Her career in music education included thirty years in the elementary music classroom and several years at the college/university level. Dr. Orrell has taught Orff certification courses at the University of Houston and has made numerous presentations to school districts in several states. While in Houston, she conducted the Cathedral Choristers at Christ Church Cathedral and taught sight singing and ear training for the Houston Children’s Chorus. Her involvement in choral music composition is a natural outgrowth of her training, experience, and love of worthy texts.

After retiring from teaching music in 2009, Sue Orrell accepted long-term sub positions with Katy Independent School District, the district from which she retired, and built her piano studio up to over thirty students. She continued to write choral music, but focused primarily on writing her personal memoir, Cries of the Panther on Mockingbird Hill (2020). Dr. Orrell’s 2nd book, Welcome Home Me, chronicles her 54-year journey that began when she left her hometown and the incidents that led her home in 2022.