21. Interview with Lisa (Hopko) Loucks, Maitland Middle School, Maitland, Florida

Lisa (Hopko) Loucks is in her twenty-third year as Orchestra
Director at Maitland Middle School in the Orange County Public
Schools centered in Orlando, Florida. Her orchestras have
consistently earned superior ratings in the Florida Orchestra
Association Music Performance Assessments, and have performed in
Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.


Originally from Chicago, Lisa grew up on the west coast of the
Florida and is a graduate Manatee High School under the direction
of Jim Palmer. She then earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music
Education from UCF, where her teachers included John Whitney, Lee
Eubank, and Dr. Ayako Yonetani. She has served as FOA 7-8 All
State Orchestra Chair, District Chair for Orange County, and is a
certified adjudicator of Music Performance Assessments. She had
the honor of conducting All-County Orchestras throughout the
state, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida
Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has been a summer faculty member
for both the Florida West Coast Symphony and UCF String Workshop.
She has also been an adjunct professor at Stetson University, as
instructor of their Secondary String Methods course.


Mrs. Loucks is a violist with the Brevard Symphony, and has
performed for the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra, 4 Divo,
Fernando Varela’s PBS special “Coming Home” and with her #1
favorite artist-Harry Connick, Jr. Her professional memberships
include the Florida Orchestra Association/ Florida Music
Educators Association, American String Teachers Association
(ASTA) and Sigma Alpha Iota. Most recently she was selected as
the 2017-18 Florida School Teacher of the Year by ASTA.


Outside of the classroom, Lisa is mom to 2-year old Logan. She
spends many weekends exploring the theme parks with her family
and is an avid Disney Pin Trader.


Ms. Loucks can be reached at Lisa.Loucks@ocps.net