Greetings!
As many of you know, I am embarking on a journey in less than four weeks to student teach in Orlando, Florida. I am greatly looking forward to the opportunity to work with the students at Freedom High School as well as their conductor, Tesfa Wondemagegnahu. In light of my excitement, I thought it would be great to document my experience.
To start, I will share some background about how this all got started. Last January, the Westminster Choir went on tour to Florida for two weeks. While there, we did several clinics at area high schools in which we sang for them, they sang for us, and then we shared lunch to get to know the students. One of these clinics was at Freedom HS in Orlando. I was absolutely blown away by this program, both the level of musicianship and character of the students. The clinics were always my favorite aspect of tour, but this one in particular was touching to me; so much so that our tour manager was practically dragging me out at the end. Our conductor, Dr. Miller, called them our kindred choir because they exhibited all of the qualities that we embody as a choir and musicians. They were motivated, dedicated, expressive, communicative, passionate, and so much more. I ended up leaving with a feeling that I was going to come back to this school ASAP. A few days later, we were in Tampa singing at the Florida Music Educators Association conference. While there, we ran in to Mr. Won and I posed the idea of possibly student teaching with him the following year. He said he would love it and said we should pursue it, a reaction I most certainly was not expecting seeing as he hardly knew me let alone my ability. The seed was thus planted!
I skyped my mentor in the music education department later that night to see what the potential for this project was, and while he said it would be difficult, it was perhaps possible. The next step was to convince the music education department that this student teaching placement needed to happen and would be one that I could not get at a school in the New Jersey placement area. I wrote a letter of intent to the department and collected letters of support from several faculty members. After submitting the materials to the department, all I could do was wait. I found out a few days later that my placement had been approved, and now I needed to put the final pieces together, like finding a place to live.
I contacted the leaders of Orlando K-Life, a Christian Youth Ministry organization that I participated in while in high school and volunteered for while in Kansas City. They quickly offered me a room in the main K-Life house to live with the other volunteers. I jumped at the chance. This also provides an opportunity for me to volunteer for K-Life and enjoy working with students and peers in Christian ministry.
So now all I can do is count the days until I depart. (22, for those who are counting) I have very little information about what exactly I will be doing, though I do know my classes. I will be working with three choirs, four voice lesson classes, a music theory class and then some time with a band and orchestra. The adventures that seem to be in store for this program this next semester are unlike any I can imagine, but I will chronicle that as they arise.
I should also mention that I will be doing research while at this school. The title of my research is an Ethnographical Study of Critical Pedagogy in High School Choirs, but I will elaborate on that in future posts as it is a bit involved.
For now, I am excited to get down there and begin working with this remarkable program and group of students. My excitement level is unlike it has ever been, I think. I plan on posting pictures as they occur, but I will also post videos and links to sites pertaining to the choir and the program to give a taste for what I am experiencing. If anyone ever has a question or comment, I would love to hear it. I am greatly looking forward to this journey and cannot wait to share it with you. Expect more soon.
Hope you all are well and are ready for a wonderful holiday!
