Almeda Bradshaw is a former K-8 teacher, private music teacher, Humanities Montana presenter, professional performer, singer songwriter and entertainer. Currently serving as Director of the IWMA Youth Chapter, Almeda brings decades of experience and knowledge to both the stage and classroom with a passion for preserving and promoting western music, a genre that encompasses traditional songs of the 19th century working cowboy to the popular songs of the 1940s silver screen cowboy to contemporary western music. These songs are a vibrant and relevant medium through which to teach not only music, but basic reading /writing skills, history and literature, as well as positive values of the American rural west.