Teri
Tibbett – Biography
Performer
Writer
Photographer
Music Educator
Comments
Teri
Tibbett is an Alaskan singer-songwriter and performer. She first came to Alaska
in 1976 aboard a ferry from Seattle
and found her first job on a salmon troller, a job
which ended abruptly after the boat went up on the rocks and sank. Since then
Teri has developed careers as a performer, teacher, photographer, and writer.
She has traveled throughout Alaska
teaching in remote Native villages and performing on the stages of clubs and
folk festivals. In summers she performs the one-woman show Living The Alaska Life
to international visitors on board Alaska-bound cruise ships. Teri's
music portrays the lifestyles of raw and rugged people, of dog mushers on the Iditarod trail, extreme snowboarders in Alaska's frozen icefields, and
Inupiat whale hunters fighting for subsistence rights on the Bering
Sea. Her original music is personal and rich with an Alaskan perspective.
(See Performance History and
CDs)
As a writer, Teri uses pen
and camera to describe the experiences, cultures, and people she meets. She
has traveled and written about rural Alaska,
the Russian Far East, Mexico,
South America, Italy,
Japan, and the Middle East. Her articles have been published in Alaska Snowboarder's Journal, Alaska
Women Speak, Childhood Education Journal, Alaskan Southeaster Magazine, Juneau Empire, and Capital City
Weekly. She has written two book and music curricula, Making Music With Children:
For Non-Musical Adults
and Listen
to Learn: Using American Music to Teach Language Arts and Social Studies. (See Writings and Books)
As
a photographer, Teri most often uses real life images to create visual compositions.
She is also a journalist and documents people, places, experiences, and art
in nature. Her photographs have
twice shown with Alaska Positive, a juried exhibition of images by Alaskan
photographers. Others have been published in Alaska Snowboarder's
Journal, Alaskan Southeaster Magazine, and the Juneau Empire.(See
Photographs)
As
an educator, Teri has taught music in over seventy Alaska
villages and cities, both independently and with the Alaska Artist-in-Schools program. In 1988 she
wrote the music curriculum for the Alaska State Department of Education Correspondence
Study, which included audio music lessons for children who study at home. She
provided the music program at Juneau Montessori
School for five years and
K-2 music at the JDU Summer Fine Arts Camp since 1995. Her own school, the Juneau School of Creative
Arts, has operated since 1990 offering music, art, and story-making classes
to children and families. She has written two music curricula for home and school
use: Making
Music With Children: For Non-Musical Adults and Listen
to Learn: Using American Music to Teach Language Arts and Social Studies. Teri is a certified Kindermusik teacher and holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree
with additional training in music, mental health, early childhood development,
and Spanish. (See Residencies and Books)
Comments
"I can state enthusiastically
that [Teri] is an artist of considerable talent and dedication." --Roberta Levitow,
Director of Special Projects, Los Angeles Theatre Center, California
"From the moment you meet her,
singer-songwriter Teri Tibbett is all smiles and enthusiasm...Super cool
and super-savvy, she's definitely an act to catch." --Brian MacMillan, Anchorage Daily
News, Anchorage, Alaska
"None of your promotional material
spoke highly enough of your spirit or abilities. [We] enjoyed you so much
because you brim with energy and sparkle in everything you do." --Eric Gabster,
KNOM Radio, Nome, Alaska
"The joy she clearly derives
from music and the audience is the most striking aspect of Tibbett's performance;
she brings to her performance an infectious energy." --Jennifer Edwards, Anchorage Press, Anchorage, Alaska
"Teri has provided us the highlight
entertainment of our visit to Juneau, Alaska...Her personality and excellent voice combine with
original Alaskan songs to bring the real Alaska into
our vessel and into our guest's lives. Her show never fails to inform and
entertain and earn the highest complements from our passengers." --Ron
Valentine, World Explorer Cruises, San
Francisco, California
"Teri's presentations are always
professional, entertaining, and educational, incorporating self-accompanied
songs of Alaska,
visual images, and wonderfully sincere, enthusiastic explanations of the
lifestyle and culture of the local people." --Sandra Bowern, Cruise Director, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, Miami, Florida
"Teri is a real professional
music educator. She inspires even the most timid child to sing. All of her
lessons are made so well that music becomes understandable and enjoyable." --Steven Hynick, Port Alexander School,
Port Alexander, Alaska
"It is truly a gift to have a
professional artist share their creative talents with our students and staff.
You have inspired us, and have helped to keep the arts alive in the Juneau School
District." --Charla Wright, Juneau School
District, Juneau, Alaska
Juneau Empire, Feature
Teri
Tibbett: A Singer's Life In Alaska