The basic bio stuff...

I graduated from R. A. Long High School in Longview, Washington in 1955. I attended Lower Columbia College and moved to Bellingham in 1957, graduating from Western Washington University (1959) when it was still Western Washington College of Education. 

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Ah, yes...the first paying job, teaching music
My first teaching experience was in Castle Rock, Washington (1959-61). What a valued time that was! First, I was delighted that someone was actually paying me to do something I loved doing. But secondly, especially as I look back on it, I was the vocal music man for all levels in the district. While I taught two groups in the high school, I also had two at the middle school and, through some imaginative scheduling, pushed a cart with a Califone record player, an autoharp, and stacks of graded music books through the halls of the elementary building serving fourth and fifth grade classes. I had a short break in my schedule a couple times a week and found myself volunteering to teach first grade music on behalf of one teacher who begged me to cover that subject for her class!

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It was during that first job that I truly began to value the classes I had at WWU dealing with elementary music methods. Like a lot of my colleagues, my main musical desire was to direct high school choirs. Yep, the quicker I could get that choir sounding like my college choir, the better. Real life for the beginning music teacher (to say the least) didn't quite match those dreams. My colleagues of that era know exactly what I mean.

 

I probably need to thank the high school students who were in my choir of 1960-61 for allowing me to "step on up" to a much larger school district beginning in 1961...Kelso.  There were several, but two who went on to direct marvelous high school choirs themselves, Jeff Mitchell and the late Neil Lieurance. (Jeff's musical family is a story for another time. Neil went on to teach choral music at Shorecrest High School. Such great choirs! Had a group sing for at least one national ACDA convention...in New Orleans...and, specifically...for me and Castle Rock of 1961, was a great piano player and I probably owe him VERY much for any success we might have had that year!)

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The Castle Rock choir and treble ensemble of the spring of 1960 didn't exactly shine at the district music contests. Maybe we got a III rating at that event...not exactly stellar. But in 1961, singing "To Thee We Sing" (I think arranged by Tkach) and "Two Kings" by Joseph Clokey, the choir nailed it pretty well on the stage at Kelso High School. Our first (I) rating! Bernard Butler, supervisor of music at Kelso, heard the performance. A couple weeks later Bernard (who also happened to have been my beginning band teacher at the sixth grade level when I started on clarinet), came to Castle Rock and told me Ted Wahlstrom (the Kelso HS choir director) was leaving. Would I be interested in the job? I said "yes." I've always been grateful to Roy Dennis, superintendent in Kelso, and to Budd Reschke, principal at KHS, for hiring me. 

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Teaching in the Kelso, Washington schools - 1961-1970 (1970-76 in a later blog)

While Kelso High School had a fine choral tradition, led by Wahlstrom, my assignment was still roughly the same. I had two classes at the high school, two at Coweeman Junior High,

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(especially) still a bit unhappy about losing Ted as well as having to deal with a new approach by the "new guy." 

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No doubt there were plenty of examples of my ineptitude, especially in matters of class management! I had colleagues from the Longview side of the river, Ormal Tack and Larry Marsh, who were supportive. Ormal was a taskmaster who, it was said had kids in his class who either loved him or hated him. He also turned out fantastic choirs. I remember chatting with him when he said, "By God, you tell those kids what I tell mine...when I say jump, you ask 'how high?' on the way up!" Sounded like a good line to me. So, the next time I thought it an OK moment for that line, I said...mostly aiming it to the back row of guys, "when I say jump, you say 'how high?' on the way up!" Yeah, right! Somewhat smothered laughter. Best described as derisive.
 

It wasn't all bad that year of 1961-62, but if the music contest is any indication of success, not a winner. The choir got a II at music contest. No doubt completely justified, could have even been worse, maybe. But, again, if music contests are any indication of success, I will say that every mixed choir at KHS from 1963 to 1976 (when I left Kelso) did get a "Superior" (I) rating at district music contests. 

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The real story, however, is that it's quite possible a person taking over a choir directing job in a school where there has been a successful program may have to "bide his or her time" for that first year or so before winning the hearts and loyalty of one's singers. It's just that kind of thing! Make no mistake, developing the hearts, the loyalties, and the desire to excel is vitally important...and it may take time!

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It's no doubt self-serving to say this, but after all, it is my blog! It was always a source of pride for me, Kelso band director Tom Hall, and orchestra director George Simonsen to hear Maurice Skones of Pacific Lutheran University refer to the music program of the late 60's and early 70's at Kelso High School as the "Oberlin of SW Washington." 

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Yes, and another source of pride...
I applied, complete with audition tape, for the choir of 1967 to sing for the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association, a group I joined shortly after moving to Kelso. We were accepted and sang a concert in what was then the Olympic Hotel in Seattle, the site for the ACDA national that year. 

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As the district music program grew, I gradually transitioned into full-time work at the high school. I had three choral groups, a music appreciation class, and I supervised the study hall for my five-period day assignment. Later I taught a general business class and a senior-review math class. Classes I, in fact, loved to teach...as it turned out!

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old Allen Street Bridge and through downtown Kelso and up the hill to the school. It was probably a two-mile walk, but only up-hill one way! My seventh-grade homeroom with Miss Evenson, was immediately across the hall from the rooms which later became the choir room I called my "home" for those eight years!But in 1970, a new high school was built east of I-5, complete with new football stadium, baseball park, a large gym and an auditorium worthless for the making of music as any space could possibly be!

 

Someone, Lord knows who, made the design decisions on that "multi-use" auditorium, but not one person asked me about it prior to construction. It was shaped like an auditorium, had a stage and was equipped somewhat with lighting. Unfortunately my tallest boys, when on the risers, had their heads nearly touching the lights. But that wasn't the worst of it. The sound was sucked into the walls. Acoustically it was dismal. We sang one concert in that hall and I never returned to it. The gym and/or the cafeteria worked better than the pretty little auditorium. Hated it, it case you haven't gotten that message yet.

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The choral rehearsal room was nice! While the music wing was not designed with many small practice rooms, we did have an "ensemble room" and office space large enough for the choral library. Mostly, I enjoyed the choir room because it was good acoustically. Hate to keep "harping" on the acoustic issue, but this is very important to us teacher/conductor types!

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I don't want to seem to wax nostalgic for "the old days," but I must say that the excitement of teaching in a brand new building was dampened a great deal by realizing we had traded a marvelous old 1,100 seat auditorium with great acoustics for a pretty 250 seat piece of crap. While I'm aware that the old venue had an electrical system dating back to early in the century with big rheostat handles for brightening or dimming lights...and was probably a fire ready to happen, it was still a marvelous hall. It was one I could count on to make the choir sound even better on stage than it sounded in the rehearsal room. I loved the space and if I seem nostalgic about it, so be it!

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One unforgettable memory from the old building was having the choir sing our Christmas concert music and Christmas carols as we lined the stairway between floors near the Church Street entrance to the building a day or two prior to the holiday break. The halls carried the sound throughout the building. It was something that we enjoyed immensely and even hard-nosed football coach and math teacher, Walt Piper, reminded me of what a joy this was when I visited with him a few years before he died. 

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I have many fond memories of those nine years in the old building at Kelso High School. For me it was a constant learning experience. My favorite music experience in high school was playing in the band at R. A. Long High School, now a "rival" school across the river. My band director, Calvin Story, was a hard taskmaster who turned out remarkably fine bands. I suppose I had no greater model than Cal and assumed somewhat of a "temperamental" music conductor role in preparing my choirs. It took a long time during my career to gradually decide this was a poor choice. Nevertheless, the top groups at the school were top groups, though it sounds egotistical to say so. 

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The "old" KHS vocal program was gifted to have some talented students from the very start of my years in Kelso. It's risky to name names for fear of leaving out amazing people, but one of the marks of Kelso choirs was the amazing basses and tenors in the groups. Paul Dennis (who also went on to a superb career as a choral director) was in one of the early groups. Steve Moore, who (for his own reasons) always called me "Coach"...a badge of honor, I thought was a bass with great low tones. John Westervelt contributed mightily both to the sound and with loyalty to the program. Dave Mortimer, a fine tenor...loved that voice. Later in the 60's, it was voices like that of Fred Anderson, extra-ordinary low bass, and the fine singing of students like Laurie Eyer.

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For whatever reason...tradition or my own interest in sports, the choir often had some of the better athletes in it. Two fine singers I recall (who also happened to be quarterbacks on the football team), Bill Gaffi and Tim Wishard, were part of the choir.

 

I've always thought that the most difficult part in a high school choir is that of the alto. The range lies a point of break for female singers where they must choose between "head voice" and "chest voice." Carrying the chest voice too high and the tone becomes pushed, shouty, and (frankly) ugly. It was great to have such singers as Kathie and Vickie Hardie and Patty Conley who knew intuitively how to manage this and produce a warm alto tone. Later, it was a whole family of Hardie kids who contributed so much, including the lone male child in the family, Tim.

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When I came to the school in 1961 the traditional "honor" group in the program was a group called the "Nonette." I don't know if this was begun by Ted Wahlstrom or if his predecessor and, when I moved to Kelso, an extra-ordinary Latin teacher at KHS, a woman by the name of Virgil Hopkins. Probably because of a teaching load that had other classes as large as 80 students, the administration allowed for this nine-member class. The Nonette became the main "ambassadors" of song to community groups such as Rotary and other civic service organizations. Two or three years before moving to the new high school, I added male voices to  the Nonette, for a great 16 voice mixed ensemble...a tradition we kept after the move.

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After a lot of brain-storming and the fun of social time with my friend and colleague, Larry Marsh, who by then taught at Mark Morris High School in Longview, the two of us were able to form a 48 voice choir made up of auditioned students from the three local high schools. We called the choir "The Columbian Chorale." This was in 1968. This group becomes a story in itself. But, for now, I'll tell you that Larry and I were able to rehearse this group, mostly after school was out in 1968 and in August take these marvelous people to seven European countries. The cost, including airfare, hotels, and two meals a day was $927.  I'll tell more of the adventure later.

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Teaching in Kelso - 1970-76

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