In this issue our featured teacher is Gerald Patton. Gerald has been the Choral Director and General Music Educator for Blackman High School in Murfreesboro for 13 years, but has actually been teaching in Rutherford County for a total of 15 years. He actively works 3 choirs and 3 general music classes. Mr. Patton directs about 120 students this year. He studied at MTSU and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Music Education and has his Masters Degree in choral conducting from Austin Peay University. For the past 12 years, Gerald has also been the worship leader for the Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Gerald believes technology, and “trends” are pulling more students back into the music world in high school. With popular musicals, movies and reality television, more students want to find their “niche” in the music world. The great thing is the music is actually inspiring them to be involved and not how many trips the class will take per year. The Blackman choir will be performing at the school on April 30th at 7:00 pm. They will be performing songs from “The Hunger Games”, “Les Miserables”, and “Newsies’s” just to name a few. The finale will be choreographed and performed by the women’s choir with songs from the 80’s rock genre. Blackman auditorium is home to a Yamaha grand piano for use in their music department. Gerald, we salute you for your hard work keeping music alive and active in Middle Tennessee!