Meet the Directors
Chelsea Farmer
Mrs. Farmer is proud to be named 2020-2021 Rice Middle School Teacher of the Year! She has been teaching choir for 17 years and is enjoying her 10th year to teach at Rice. Choirs under her direction consistently earn UIL Sweepstakes Awards as well as State and National Awards! Mrs. Farmer teaches with a daily emphasis on sight-reading and a variety of engaging solfege and rhythmic warm-ups to reinforce a strong musical foundation. More importantly, she builds meaningful relationships with every student and creates a safe space for them to be expressive. Chelsea feels motivated to reach the most reluctant and apathetic singers in her choirs, as it is her strong belief that singing in a choir is important and can be life changing for all children, regardless of their abilities. Mrs. Farmer's students become a family who encourage, accept, and trust one another. They show compassion, appreciate music, strive for excellence, and show pride in their efforts.
Chelsea is a 2006 summa cum laude graduate of Abilene Christian University. She has been married to her husband, Matt, for 14 years. They have a fifth grade daughter, Dylan, and a first grade son, Grayson. They love their Maltipoo (Ruthie) and their HUGE Goldendoodle puppy (Birdie). There is never a dull moment in the Farmer household!!
Meet the Directors
Mande Young
Mande Young is currently loving her 7th year as the Assistant Choir Director at Rice! She began her teaching career in Plano as the assistant choral director at Bowman Middle School and then as the head choral director at Robinson Middle School, where she was named Teacher of the Year for the 1998-1999 school year. After leaving public education, she was an accompanist for 17 years and taught private voice lessons for 8 years. She returned to the classroom 7 years ago and feels blessed to work alongside Chelsea Farmer at Rice Middle School.
Mrs. Young earned a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Stephen F. Austin State University. She has been married to her husband, Tim, for 27 years. They have a 23 year old daughter, Chloe, who just graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an 20 year old son, Caden, who is a sophomore music major at Stephen F. Austin. The most loving member of their family is their 11 year old Cockapoo, Jake!!