My First Full Concert (Three Years In)

If you would have told me I wouldn’t get to have my first all choir concert until three years into my career, I would’ve laughed. And yet, here we are in that reality. It took far too long, but I finally had my first; all choir and only conducted by me. And it went well.

After all of the challenges that this year has brought, it was nice to feel so successful. There have been a lot of times this year that I’ve questioned my abilities, whether it was due to classroom management, parent concerns, or the trauma that the pandemic has brought to us all. It was a relief that everything went smoothly. In some ways, I’m glad it took so long to come around. I had extra time to improve my teaching skills, repertoire selection, and ability to include more collaborative musicians. I was also able to bring in a clinician the week before our concert to work on our pieces, which we all benefitted from. My kids sang better and I taught better as a result of it.

I wasn’t sure this concert would come together, as we had from April 1st to May 12th to have an entire concert ready to go. That is plenty of time for a high school, but is pushing it for middle school. And yet, it did come together. My kids knew their music and sounded good. It instilled a lot of confidence in myself as an educator. I am capable of teaching choir- and teaching it well. I am excited to see my skills grow as time goes on and watch my students continue to improve.

Choir is where my heart is. Teaching students how to create art while helping them become better people is such a privilege. Feel free to enjoy our concert at this link. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as my students and I enjoyed preparing and performing it