By Tom Rohrer
Everyone, whether their notes are flat or in perfect pitch, enjoys participating in and or listening to musical harmony.
The Thurston County area features a large collection of talented chorallaries, whether it is at the professional, recreational or educational level.
One of those talented groups is the all-girls choir at Nisqually Middle School, where Kelley Morgan, also the choir director at River Ridge High School, both within the North Thurston Public Schools district, is teaching the teenagers the appropriate techniques and attitude that will lead to success in choir and beyond.
Composed of 74 seventh and eighth grade female students, the NMS choir meets daily to practice a variety of compositions while working on the various aspects of the perfect pitch. Throughout the year, the choir will perform at school assemblies, evening concerts and instructional competitions.
Morgan, who has been teaching music for 21 years, says that keeping the choir all female allows for a better development of students interested in music.
“It was nearly 100 percent female already, so it’s helpful being able to focus on the majority of the student’s development,” Morgan said. “It’s fun and allows me to just focus on what the girls need. You don’t have to worry about changing voices or kids showing off. You can just focus on making them better musicians and relate to them easier.”
When teaching choir, Morgan notes, it’s important to bring the entire group of students together, and teach them how to work with one another for the betterment of the entire group.
“My job is more of how to teach them to work together and help them learn to understand all the different aspects together,” Morgan said. “With a group this large, I like it, and it’s almost easier to manage a class this size. You make them understand that the only way they’ll sound good is together and they’ve realized it’s a group effort.”
“We’ve learned how to make our pitch sound more together, and make it sound like we’re one person,” said Nisqually Middle School student Stephine Leiba. “It’s fun to be a part of something like that.”
During the lesson, Morgan is very active with the students, leading them from both her feet and from behind the piano. Her energy is spread to the entire class, whether it’s from her hand motions, singing or occasional dance moves.
“You get into it because you see her excited and having a fun time as well,” said student Samantha Baloga. “That energy is contagious.”
“We work hard on being comfortable with ourselves and everyone around us, and I think that helps us perform better,” said choir member Sariah Yousos. “She helps us gain confidence together.”
Along with that confidence and social skills the students learn by working together, Morgan says that choir, and school music programs help teenagers understand and process information more efficiently.
“It’s huge for brain crossover,” said Morgan, who is in her third year teaching at NMS. “It’s great for reading because you’re reading over multiple systems. There’s math because you have to add up measures. You have multiple languages with pitch, rhythm, tone. It’s extremely important for their development.”
Morgan, who teaches elementary education for arts integration at Saint Martin’s University on top of her duties at RRHS and NMS, says that students are instilled with a greater passion at a young age due to high accessibility. She also believes that musical instruction at the high school level benefits from students learning the ropes at a younger age.
“In some respects, kids are more passionate about music now, thank you YouTube and all of the access,” Morgan said with a chuckle. “In my experience, kids are much more enthusiastic than they ever were to learn about and participate in music.”
“It starts from the bottom up, especially at the elementary level,” Morgan said of high school music instruction. “The high school programs are indicative of the foundation. There are so many scholarships and opportunities for students once they get to high school and getting a great start allows them to take full advantage of those things.”
In an effort to acclimate her students to the high school program, Morgan’s middle school choir performs in the auditorium at River Ridge, allowing them to see what lies ahead.
“It’s so fun to perform there on that real stage,” said student Ashant Ford. “There are a lot of people there and it’s cool to know that they came to see you sing. You feel like a performer.”
Morgan said that she had to re-configure her schedule to accommodate both her obligations at NMS and RRHS. Making sacrifices like that pales in comparison to the joy she gets from seeing her students smile and perform.
“It’s a challenge physically getting to from one place to the next, and I had to take out my lunch to get to both places,” Morgan said, “But I could care less. It’s so fun being around the students and seeing everything click as a group. I like the fact that I’m dealing with the student, rather than the instrument or anything else going on. It’s a personal relationship and it’s unbelievable to have that relationship grow.”
