Noted Amarillo musician and music educator Betty Jo Roller has been selected to receive the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from Amarillo College.
Roller, a 1953 graduate of Amarillo College, taught music and directed middle school orchestras for more than 30 years in the Amarillo Independent School District. Her outstanding career was punctuated in 1990 when she was named Texas Orchestra Director of the Year by the Texas Orchestra Directors Association.
Also an active member of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra for 30 years as a violinist, Roller becomes the 21st recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award since its inception in 1993.
She will be presented with the award Sunday, April 18 during the Amarillo College Honors Convocation, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Amarillo Civic Center Auditorium.
Roller’s name will be added to a list of past honorees that includes Ben Sargent, Pulitzer Prize editorial cartoonist for the Austin American-Statesman, and Mary Lou Robinson, a federal judge who in 1973 became the first female appellate judge in Texas.
As a student at AC, Roller was a member of Sigma sorority and the AC Orchestra. She performed with a string quartet and the choir. She went on to receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Texas State University.
Roller has served the community as regional orchestra chairman and on committees or boards for the Greater Southwest Music Festival, the State Prescribed Music List and the Amarillo Symphony, among others.
Her husband, Dr. Dale Roller, formerly chaired the Division of Fine Arts at Amarillo College.
The Amarillo College Distinguished Alumni Award is co-sponsored by the Student Government Association and the ACEx-Student Association for the purpose of honoring outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to career and community.