Episode Details

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a showcase of student talent, musical magic, and seasonal joy. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Joel P. Jensen Middle School for a holiday music program that will make your spirits bright one note at a time. Listen and enjoy. We're in Ms. Johnson's classroom just after the performance. Tell me about this group of students.

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, this is our concert choir. So it's our students who are taking choir for their second or third year here at Joel P. Jensen. We have a few students who are seventh graders as well who just came to boost our numbers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the process of taking them from not knowing these songs and some of them not having experienced singing, to being at this point. They sounded great.

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, we do a lot of learning up front, doing rounds where students have to really get used to singing their part independently and start learning how to read music. Then it takes us about two months to learn our concert. So usually each class is learning about four or five songs. We start with just learning the notes, and then we try to make it more musical, add dynamics, the louds and softs, and make it more interesting and emotional from there.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm always amazed at how music teachers, both instrumental and choral, are able to have each individual practice their part and then bring everyone together and blend all of that so it's a unified sound. Talk to me about that process.

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, we work with just the altos or just the sopranos, and then sometimes we'll spend like 20 minutes just working on eight measures. So just a really small portion of the song, making sure everyone understands how their part fits in with the rest. Yeah, it's fun to see how everyone is able to find their note and by relying on the other people who are on their part, but then still have that independence from the other parts in the group. It just all comes together so beautifully at the end of the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
So to blend without being lost.

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
I always get lost. Tell me about your journey to becoming a music teacher. How long have you been here and what made you interested in music from the start?

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, this is my second year teaching at Joel P. Jensen and ever. I graduated from college in 2024. So it's been a fun journey to have my first choir. I actually decided to teach music because I had a wonderful middle school choir director and several wonderful piano teachers who made me love music and see the benefit that it could have to my life personally. I felt like I really found a place in choir. It's nice to be able to offer other students now those same opportunities to have connections socially and to understand their emotions better by working through them in music class. It's really rewarding to pass that forward.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's a huge personal benefit. Tell me about one of those instructors who had such an impact on you.

Ms. Johnson:
Yeah, so I lived in Pennsylvania when I was in middle school and my choir teacher was named Mrs. Farrell. She had really high expectations for us as a choir class and made us better musicians and better people, teaching us to really care for each other and always seek to do our best at anything we did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you find yourself do