Bakland is noted for her skill in helping performers achieve superb performances of music by many composers, especially J.S. Bach and Mozart. This gift, coupled with her ability to motivate and guide students as they develop their own unique style, has resulted in an incredible list of student achievements.

From the start, students in the WWC piano preparatory division garnered numerous medals in the annual Spokane Allied Arts Competition and others. Even so, Bakland wanted to provide an ultimate experience for the most gifted in her program and to involve more of the musical community. Accordingly, in 1989 she presented the first in a series of Concerto Gala concerts that featured preparatory division students playing orchestral-accompanied works by Bach. Conductor Robert Bode conducted the first Gala Concerto concert comprised of musicians drawn from the community and the Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra.

The program was a huge success and additional gala concerts followed, including one given at the Washington State Music Teachers Association convention in 1990. Three years later, the successes of Bakland’s students and those of assisting student teachers were nationally noted when the preparatory division celebrated its tenth anniversary by responding to an invitation to once again present a Concerto Gala concert at the Spokane Opera House during the Music Teachers National Association convention.

In 1997, a Concerto Gala concert titled "Bach to Poulenc," given as a prelude to the Walla Walla Symphony season, resulted in a thank-you donation of $3500 to the symphony for its part in the musical life of the community. The success of that event led to an invitation from conductor Yaacov Berman for her to plan a gala concert as part of the regular symphony season the next year. The concert featured students of the preparatory division as well as college students of Kraig Scott and Debra Bakland and Leonard Richter. The concert was a season highlight.

As Bakland's reputation has grow, she has become a sought-after adjudicator and presenter in workshops throughout five Western states and in Washington State Music Teachers Association events and conventions. The success of the Walla Walla College piano preparatory division under her leadership was considered so noteworthy that an article Bakland wrote about it was one of five selected for the 75^th anniversary WSMTA Journal.

Her teaching skills not only led to work with piano majors at WWC, but to an appointment to teach at Whitman College from 1996-1998, and an interim appointment to teach during the 2000-2001 academic year at Western Washington University in Bellingham. At the latter, she was specifically invited to help build the piano and piano pedagogy program.

Bakland's sensitivity as an accompanist and performer has led to a number of successful collaborations with Susan Pickett, Sonja Gourley, Lee Thompson, Jackie Wood and others, and to a role as a sought-after accompanist and performing coach for Walla Walla College music students.

Particularly noteworthy is the work she has done with violinist Susan Pickett and soprano Sonja Gourley in the ensemble Donne e Doni, a trio that has performed numerous recitals of a number of works by women composers. They were featured on National Public Radio in a program that subsequently aired in Canada, Australia, and Russia, and on Good Morning America. They have released two CD’s.

Born and raised in New England, Bakland lived for nearly 30 years in College Place. While she taught private lessons in her home initially, it was not until she began her work as director of the piano preparatory program at WWC that her gifts were fully realized. The purpose of the program was not only to provide instruction for young students but to afford an opportunity for college piano students to learn to teach under the guidance of a master teacher.

Bakland holds a B.Mus. degree from Andrews University and an M.A. in music from Washington State University. Primary teachers at WSU included Ruby Ronald, Loren Olsen, and Judith Schoepflin. Additional studies have included harpsichord with Peter Wolf at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, and piano with Daryll Irvine at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Seymour Bernstein in New York City, and Donald Walker at Northern Illinois University.

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