Wes Atkinson is the Jenks High School Orchestra Director and Head of the Orchestra Program at Jenks. Mr. Atkinson is a Jenks graduate with a Bachelors in Music Performance from Oral Roberts University and a Masters in Music Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he graduated with honors. He has directed orchestras, bands, and jazz ensembles for the last 14 years. In addition to directing, Mr. Atkinson is a composer and performer.
At Jenks, Mr. Atkinson directs the high school orchestras, assists the orchestras at West Intermediate, directs JMSHO (Jenks Middle School Honors Orchestra), leads the Jenks Orchestra Student Leader program, and oversees all orchestra activities at Jenks.
Amanda Wheaton is the 7th Grade Orchestra Director at Jenks Middle School and Assistant Director of the Jenks High School Orchestras. Mrs. Wheaton is an Instrumental Music Education graduate of Oklahoma State University, with emphasis and extra coursework in String and Chamber Music pedagogy.
Mrs. Wheaton has taught 3rd-12th grade Strings in Colorado and Oklahoma. She has been a guest conductor for the Tulsa Metro Honors Orchestra, a guest clinician for the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences and was a director of the Mozart Strings Project with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. She is a substitute section violinist for the Signature Symphony.
Hyland Spille is the Jenks 8th Grade Orchestra director. Mrs. Spille received her Bachelor's degree in Music Education with a violin concentration from Oral Roberts University. She has played the violin for over twenty years and the cello and viola for ten years. After suffering a wrist injury, she spent three years studying new techniques for playing the violin and has adapted her approach to teaching to accommodate each unique student. Mrs. Spille is a gigging musician in the Tulsa area and a session recording artist at Spille Music Studio.
Micah Neely is the Director of Jenks West Intermediate Orchestras and assists the Jenks East Intermediate and Jenks 7th Grade Orchestras. Mr. Neely graduated Cum Laude from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Arts in Viola Performance, and has been teaching at Jenks Public Schools for 4 years.
Outside of Jenks Mr. Neely is an Assistant Conductor for the Tulsa Youth Symphony, and performs regularly with the Tulsa Signature Symphony and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.
Laura Duncan currently directs the 6th grade orchestra at East Intermediate and serves as Assistant Director for the West Intermediate and High School String Orchestras. Mrs. Duncan is a proud graduate of the William Jewell College Oxbridge program and holds both a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Texas Woman’s University.
As a professional musician, she has performed with symphony and show orchestras throughout the United States, accompanying such diverse artists as Kathleen Battle, Sarah Chang, Kenny Rogers, Roberta Flack, The Manhattan Transfer, Lyle Lovett, Le Cirque du Soleil, Sandi Patty, and Kristin Chenowith. She maintains an active schedule as a freelance violinist/violist and studio teacher in the Tulsa area.