James Rice, Inglemoor High band director, has been recognized as an outstanding music educator by Heritage Music Festivals.

Rice and his performing groups received high marks in the 2010 San Francisco Heritage Festival, winning an Outstanding Orchestra Group award by the junior/senior orchestra group and an Outstanding Band Group award by the jazz ensemble. In addition to these and the three gold and one silver awards won by each of the sophomore and junior/senior orchestra, wind and jazz ensemble groups, they also won the Adjudicators’ Award, Instrumental Sweepstakes Award and Festival Sweepstakes awards.

For more than 14 years, Rice and his music students have successfully participated at 14 different Heritage Festivals in Vancouver, BC; San Francisco, Calif.; Anaheim, Calif.; Washington, DC; and Orlando, Fla.

Rice has been a music educator for 32 years and has been teaching at Inglemoor for the past eight years. He has been inducted into the Washington Music Educators Association Hall of Fame and currently teaches more than 350 Inglemoor students.

Rice received his undergraduate degree from Central Washington University in 1978 and a master of arts degree from the University of Washington in 1995. He is married and has two children. Daughter Rachel received her bachelor of education in music from Central, and another daughter, Rebecca, is also pursuing a music education major at Central.