Pease becomes choir teacher

 

By Joy Ho ’21
Jeremy Pease has stepped into the role of choral director at the Middle School this year. Before coming to the campus, Pease taught middle school chorus at Westside Neighborhood School and spent some time in a Manhattan school district. Prior to that, Pease also taught at Middle and High schools in Bloomington, Illinois.
“A friend of mine is an alumnus of the choir program here. He had [former choral director Nina] Burtchaell throughout his time at Harvard-Westlake, and he turned out to be an incredible musician and composer, and he told me about the open position. After attending the holiday choral concert last year, it was clear that this was an incredible place to make music,” Pease said.
Pease directs the Seventh grade Boys and Girls’ Choruses, Vocal Ensemble, Wolverine Chorus and Madrigals. He said he hopes that all of his students continue to develop a passion for singing, both as soloists and as ensembles, and that they all grow musically throughout the school year.
“I’m loving [the school]. The faculty and staff from the first days of meetings greeted me warmly from the beginning. And the students are so fun to work with and open to all kinds of ideas in class. It’s a wonderful community to be a part of,” Pease said.
He also said that the students and faculty have been very helpful, and it has been easy to adjust to the Middle School.
Pease said his favorite aspects of teaching choir are the moments in class when his students accomplish and create something beautiful with the music and how their eyes light up once they realize how exciting it is. Outside of the classroom, Pease also enjoys exercising, playing board and card games, eating food with friends and watching movies.
Students also seem to like being in Pease’s choirs.
“I really like being in his class. He’s a really good teacher because he doesn’t just teach us songs, but also music theory so we can understand more. Mr. Pease is also very light-hearted and very caring. He also makes the classes really fun and makes a lot of jokes,” Vocal Ensemble singer Rhea Madhogarhia “22 said.