Person - to - Person
Donna Solverud, Choir Director at Laramie High School Laramie, Wyoming
Donna Solverud is in her second year as Director of Choral Activities at Laramie High School, and twelfth year as a choral music educator. Her first career was in the restaurant business as a manager and bookkeeper. In 2002, she went back to school to get her music education degree and spent her first ten years teaching choir, musical theatre, drama, and coaching track and football at Boltz Middle School in Fort Collins, Colorado. At Laramie High School she directs 5 choir ensembles, including Freshmen Choir, Mixed Chorus (non-audition), Women’s Choir (audition), Girls Select Jazz Choir, and Plainsmen Singers (audition). Originally from Pueblo, Colorado, Donna received her Bachelor of Music Education degree as well as a Master’s Degree in Music Education/Conducting from Colorado State University. Donna is an avid football fan and has been a Broncos fan since she was twelve years old. Although she is a CSU graduate, she is learning
to love the Cowboys! Donna and her husband, Truman, are enjoying being empty nesters and love spending time camping, kayaking, and exploring Wyoming.
Tell us what brought you to a career in music education. I have been surrounded by music educators my whole life. My mom and dad are both retired high school choir and band directors respectively, and my aunt, uncle and brother are music educators as well. My mom and dad have definitely been the biggest influences on me. They touched so many lives throughout their careers. There have been many students over the years that have said that because of them, they are now teaching, or music was the only thing that kept them in school. I wanted to make that kind of difference with kids. I originally went to CSU in 1984 as a music performance
major in flute and voice. I did not want to teach, more than anything the thought of teaching music to kids was incredibly intimidating to me. I didn’t think I had what it took to be a teacher, but I loved music, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, so I was a voice performance major. So, naturally after leaving CSU, I became a waitress! I accidentally got into the restaurant business and stayed for the next fifteen years. Knowing that I missed being involved in music, my husband talked me into interviewing for a choir director position at a local church. I got the job and stayed there for eight years. During my time there, I also became a Sunday school teacher for the high school kids. This is when I realized that these kids were pretty great, and I thought maybe teaching could be an option for me. Soon after that, I enrolled at CSU and four years later I graduated with a teaching degree and a job! I think having some real-world experience and kids of my own helped me to be more prepared to be a teacher. It was the best decision of my life. There is not a day that goes by that I wish I were doing something different. I love my students and am grateful that I am able to teach them what I love.
You’re fairly new to Wyoming. How does music education here compare to other places you’ve taught. I’ve only taught in Fort Collins, but some of the differences
Fall 2017 |
www.wyomea.org
I have noticed about music education in Wyoming is the collaboration between schools from different cities and how close knit the music community is throughout the entire state. I also love how involved the University of Wyoming’s music department is with the school districts. I notice that in Colorado, specifically in Fort Collins, CSU is not as involved with the local schools. I am grateful to have UW right in our backyard, they are a tremendous resource!
What is your favorite part of your teaching day? I don’t really have a favorite part of my teaching day ... I love everything about my day! I feel that I have a unique perspective about teaching because I spent fifteen plus years in the restaurant business. It was never what I really wanted to be doing, and every day was a struggle to go to work. My favorite part of that job was looking forward to my days off. Teaching does not feel like a job ... I love my students and I love what I do. I feel like I get to play all day! I am also thrilled to be teaching high school choir. I loved middle school students, but I was teaching so many different subjects that sometimes it was hard to give every class a hundred percent. Now, I am concentrating on just choir and I am really enjoying honing my craft.
What do you do to keep yourself personally engaged in music outside of teaching? I am the Music Director for Christ United Methodist Church in Fort Collins. I have been directing church choirs for 13 years. In Fort Collins, I performed with a group of educators called Moonlighting Teachers, and most recently, I will be singing with the Civic Choir in Laramie. It’s nice to have a little more time to be able to perform again! I love to sing and learn from other directors as well as having the perspective of being a choir member. I think it helps me to be a better director.
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