Andrew White has his hands full and he loves every minute of it. Even as he prepares for the May 13 Choir Pops Concert, Romeoville High School’s new Choral Director is already looking to the future.
“An opportunity like this to build up a program in the Chicago suburbs is very rare,” said White, who joined the RHS team at the start of the current school year after serving as Choral Director at Ottawa High School for two years. “The majority of my singers are juniors and seniors so next year half my kids are gone. The first thing I need to do is attract ninth and tenth graders and connect with our middle schools to get some vertical integration going.”
A graduate of Millikin University with a rare dual major in music education and vocal performance, White grew up in upstate New York with parents who were both music educators.
“They were both instrumentalists but I went over to the dark side of vocal music,” he recalled. “I got into vocal jazz in high school which drew me into the whole idea of majoring in music.”
A state-caliber tenor in high school, White’s resume includes several opera performances in college, some community theatre and lots of church choirs, including work last year as a paid sectional leader at Grace United Church in Naperville.
“I’m not performing anywhere right now,” he said. “I want to put all my energy into the school.”
His first job out of college was in Decatur Public Schools where he served as a general music instructor for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. He also ran the choral program at Eisenhower High School in Decatur.
When the opportunity arose to become Choral Director at RHS, he jumped at the chance.
“Clearly this is a place where a choral program will work,” said White, who pointed to the strong band program at RHS. “In most places the choir program is bigger than the band program because it’s easier to teach a student to sing from scratch than it is to start an instrument in high school.”
White, who is pursuing his Master’s Degree in music education at Vandercook College of Music, considers himself more than just a music teacher.
“Music is a vehicle to teach skill building and a vehicle to help people be better,” he said. “I really believe music enhances your life.”
Grant will allow Martinez to purchase oxygen-measuring devices
The Physical Education Department at A. Vito Martinez Middle School in Romeoville has received a $500 grant that will be used to purchase 10 pulse oximeters.
The devices will allow the school to measure the oxygen level in students’ blood to determine how efficiently oxygen is being sent to the furthest parts of the body, according to Martinez PE Key Leader Chris McVey.
The grant was courtesy of the Northeastern District of the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.