Classical MPR's Teacher Feature highlights the lives and work of music teachers throughout Minnesota.
Brian Cole
Director of Orchestra, Grades 5-8
Horizon Middle School
Moorhead, Minn.
Where did you go to college?
I went to college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, and then went to graduate school at the University of Colorado in Greeley.
What's one of the most memorable moments you've had in the classroom (or had while teaching music)?
Earlier this year, in February, our 8th grade orchestras performed at a contest festival in Alexandria. We have three 8th grade orchestras at our school, a little over one hundred kids in orchestra and so they're split up into three equal ability groups, and we never get to practice all together before a concert (maybe one day before the concert we'll get together). But we were at this hotel in Alexandria, and before we went to the high school, we set up in one of the hotel ballrooms and all the students got a chance to practice for about an hour and a half. There were no judges, there were no clinicians, really no parents — just the students and me in the room, practicing and trying to refine a few pieces to be played later. And I remember looking out at all these kids (about 30% of the student body is in orchestra) and they're all in different states of physical and mental health — you have your artists, your athletes, your brainiacs, your jocks, your gamers, your bookworms — and they were all buying into it, they were all in their concert black attire. I remember looking out at them, and the rehearsal was unbelievable. They were working so hard. And I had to turn around, because first of all I forgot they were 8th graders, they were making such beautiful music. It was just one of those moments where everything seemed right. I love making music with students that I care about. I've had some of these kids now for over four or five years, and to see them grow from barely being able to pluck "Twinkle Twinkle" in tune, to being able to make some great music is really great.
What's one of the most memorable moments you've had in the classroom (or had while teaching music)?
During one of my first years in Moorhead, we were discussing what to wear for our concert uniform (typically we just wore white and black). Somebody said, "we should get hockey jerseys!" Knowing how important hockey is up here, I thought, "why not?"
So I went to our local sporting goods shop and said, "What's a deal you can give us on hockey jerseys?" I'll always remember the first time we passed the jerseys out — on the front it says "Moorhead Orchestra" with our big Moorhead 'M', and on the back it has the student's last name and a number. We passed them out on a Friday, and there was a young man named Dustin who put it on, and as he was running out to the bus, he shouted, "And now... starting on viola... DUSTIN!"
I remember thinking that for that student, that might be the only jersey he'd ever have with his name on the back. I've had so many parents say that a defining moment for their kid was the day they got their own jersey. We don't give out the jerseys until their second year in the program, and it's become a rite of passage. One of my favorite moments of the school year is the senior honor concert, when all the seniors get their jerseys and wear them during that concert. It's become a tradition.
If you were to help program a day of music at Classical MPR, what would be a piece of music you'd play in the morning? What piece of music would you play in the evening? What is it about these pieces that make them a couple of your favorites?
For the morning, I would pick a newer composition by Michael Daugherty — a University of Michigan graduate. He wrote a piece called "Route 66" for full orchestra. It's as if you started out on Route 66 in the middle part of America and worked your way out to the west coast. It's really upbeat with a lot of jazz and American influences in it.
In the evening, I would choose "The Beatitudes" for string quartet, by a composer named Vladimir Martynov. It's very peaceful; it's a piece I listen to when I want to unwind.
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