Ep. 55 - Empowering Student Leaders in the Choral Ensemble - Monika Tabor

"The first year is the worst. The kids will want everything that’s not you, and that’s OK. They don’t want to know what you know until they know that you care about them, so you just wear them down with kindness and that sense of wonder about music. That’s my trick. I try and find what they wonder about music and then find ways to hook that into the materials I’m choosing.”Monika Tabor serves as Director of Choirs for Lake Stevens High School and as advisor for LSHS Associate Student Body government.  She has a love for vocal jazz that was instilled in her by her junior high school and high school music teachers in Marysville and Lake Stevens. Teaching in public schools since 2004, she has taught vocal jazz, choral music, musical theater, general music/music history, as well as stagecraft and sound design. Her music direction credits include Godspell and Mamma Mia! wiith LSHS Drama, as well as You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Pippin, and White Christmas with Prairie High School in Vancouver, WA.  Tabor earned her B.A. in Music from the University of Washington and her teacher certification was earned from Western Washington University. She recently earned her Master of Educational Leadership and principal certification from Eastern Washington University. Currently serving as President-Elect for Washington State American Choral Directors Association (WAACDA.org), she has also participated as an active member of The National Association for Music Education, and Washington Music Educators. She is often invited to work as a guest clinician for middle and high school level solos and choral groups. Tabor was recognized in 2018 by the Gateway Middle School PTSA (Everett, WA) with their Outstanding Educator Award and in 2020 by the Mount Pilchuck Educators Association as their Music Educator of the Year.To get in touch with Monika, you can find her on Instagram: @lshs_tabor or @lakechoirfam .Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson