Carol Pederson can’t remember a time when music wasn’t part of her life.
Raised in a deeply musical family with a mother who was a church organist and choir teacher, music was never treated as an extra.
“It was never a frill,” she said. “I was taught that music is a way to connect and build community - to make the world a better place.”
Trained in music performance and music history, Pederson originally planned a career in arts administration. That path shifted once she became a parent and recognized both the necessity and the transformative power of teaching. She joined Spokane Public Schools after earning her teaching certificate and has since built a three-decade career spanning every level of instruction, K–12.
Before becoming SPS Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts, Pederson taught orchestra for 20 years at 13 elementary schools, Chase Middle School, and served as director of orchestras at Ferris and Lewis & Clark High Schools.
Along the way, she extended her impact through community leadership as a conductor for the Spokane Youth Symphony, accompanist for the Spokane Area Youth Choirs, and a board member of the Spokane Symphony Education Committee.
Several former students have gone on to professional music careers in performance and education, while many others carried forward confidence, discipline, and a lifelong appreciation for the arts.
“I did not expect to love teaching this much when I first started,” Pederson said. “It opened doors and connected me with the community in ways I never thought possible.”
One message Pederson consistently shared with her students was simple and enduring: “As you get older, your job is to give more,” she said. “When you’re younger, you take in – and as you grow, you give back.”
That belief continues to guide her work as an arts administrator and shapes her philosophy today. She sees the arts as essential to the well-being of individuals and the vitality of communities. In every leadership role she strives to educate, inspire, and enrich both the organization and the broader community it serves.
Pederson was recently selected for the 2026 Washington Music Educators Association Hall of Fame, which recognizes exceptional support, inspiration, and contributions to the growth and development of music education across Washington state. A maximum of 10 members are selected every biennium and inducted at the WMEA State Conference, held this year on February 15 in Yakima.
Pederson is among only a small number of Spokane Public Schools music educators to receive this honor since the Hall of Fame was established.