Over the past four years, Sentinel High School has seen a multitude of choir directors. This year, however, a fresh new face is warmly welcomed to the Sentinel staff as our choir director.
Her name? Ms. Carparelli. Or as her students affectionately call her: Ms.C.
Her love for music blossomed during high school and continued to grow. Before going to the Gonzaga University of Washington, Ms.Carparelli lived in Helena, Montana. A small non-musical city, where her exposure to the arts was rather limited.
When she first found herself at Gonzaga, she was planning on pursuing a degree in human physiology. But she felt limited. Although she had joined a singing group, she wanted to do more and push herself musically. In her sophomore year, Carparelli changed her major.
And for her, it was worth it.
Gonzaga was fast-paced, rigid, and a heavy workload. It was even more difficult for her because she hadn’t learned anything about music as a child, which put her at a disadvantage compared to her peers. Carparelli states that “you kind of get an appreciation for how hard it [music] is when you’re learning it… it’s like learning a new language when you’re not [taught] it from a young age”.
Ms. Carparelli hadn’t experienced such an advanced level of music theory and choral technique in her youth. She described it as a sense of “nothing, and then all”. She was thrown into a completely new world.
Through this experience, Carparelli built up a passion for singing and learning about music. She’s been professionally singing for six years and plans to continue doing so while passing along this knowledge to her students.
While teaching wasn’t Ms. Carparelli’s first thought as she entered college, after earning her bachelor degree it became clear that she wanted to pursue her teaching certificate. This was because she loved the community and learning opportunities that choir provided for her. And in her words, she wants to “be facilitating that for other people, and to [be cultivating] that same environment and the same things that I loved and the same things that make high school bearable”.
After six years of studying at Gonzaga, earning both a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate, she decided to move back to Montana. She wanted the same people in the same community she grew up in to experience what she has.
This love for choir and her musical skills have directly impacted how she chooses to teach her classes. Rather than completely embracing traditional teaching methods,. Carparelli tries to bond with and mentor her students. This is a direct reflection of her love of learning, and the way she was taught music during her adolescence.
To Carparelli, choir should be more of a “give and take” relationship, where she and the students are all learning. Carparelli does this because “we’re all working together towards these performances and we want to sound as good as we can”.
“Common purpose, having fun, and making friendships and connections,” are the things that form Carparelli’s teaching philosophy. She also highlights the importance of being “quirky and weird” without any judgement. For her, that’s what students and teachers should aspire to do in the classroom and within the community.
For her first year teaching, Carparelli plans on settling in and figuring out all the ins and outs of the choir program. She plans on doing that while continuing to participate in all of the concerts, events, and extracurricular opportunities presented to the choir.
Carparelli has been talking with Assistant Principal Jannusch to coordinate opportunities for choir students to sing the national anthem at volleyball games. As of now, four choir students have been able to sing the national anthem at Sentinel’s home volleyball games.
This opportunity is beneficial for students because it helps connect the choir community to other activities and fosters new connections. These events also strengthen school spirit amongst the students who attend the games.
There have even been small conversations about the choir performing and working with the other fine arts, such as that of the band, theater, and orchestra.
Moving forward, Ms. Carparelli plans to continue these community-based activities that help both Sentinel’s choir community and its individual students. One of her ultimate goals is to make these community based performances more prominent during the 2025-2026 school year.
It’s hard to say what new events and activities Ms. Carparelli will have the choir participate in. Her youthful enthusiasm will most definitely take the choir in a new, positive direction.
