About Me

I began teaching here in MSAD 72 in 2013, shortly after my graduation from the Music Education program at the University of Southern Maine with Dr. Michele Kaschub. As a music education major I went through a four year program involving vocal and instrumental study, as well as the studies of music theory, music history, and how best to teach all these practices to children in the K-12 grades. In those four years I was able to pursue my vocal growth as a soloist within the vocal studio of Ellen Chickering and as a choral member in the USM Chamber Singers with Dr. Robert Russell. My final semester of student teaching included two placements: one at Windham High School with Dr. Richard Nickerson as well as the other at Raymond Elementary School with Patti Gordan. Both prepared me well for running a classroom of my own, but nothing can compare to the years of experience since then.

Continued reflection and personal growth has been the name of the game since introducing myself as Miss Zahn to those first classes in 2013. I believe it is my unique opportunity in General Music to introduce these students to the many aspects of music and how they, personally, can interact with and experience music. There are so many doorways-in to music and I aim to help each student find their particular door so that they may become a lifelong participant, learner, or appreciator. In that regard I am always looking to deepen my learning and better my practice so that students get the most of our forty minutes a week together, participating in lessons which engage them actively in the learning of musical concepts. I have found particular fun and effectiveness in the resources of John Feierabend with my elementary students, I find music teacher workshops to be an invaluable source of inspiration, and I feel very fortunate to live in a time where other music teachers can share their wealth of experience over the internet. We can provide so much for our students if we are able to recognize our successes as well as our shortcomings in the classroom in order to grow as lifelong learners ourselves.

In 2016, after completing my third year of teaching in the district, I felt ready to balance pursuing a Masters in Vocal Pedagogy with the full time priority of my classroom and my students. As someone who loves to sing and is passionate about the joy it can create in ones self and in others, I also wanted to make sure that I was teaching my students (and practicing myself) in the most healthful way possible. A degree in vocal pedagogy delves into just that: the scientific process of sound production, the anatomical structure of the voice, how the musculature works therein, the classification of different kinds of voices, range considerations and repertoire appropriate for such voices, and how to overcome challenges one may encounter in the singing voice in order to sing more beautifully, but also more safely. As someone who teaches several hundred students I felt it very important to have a better working knowledge of this specific aspect of music, to better equip my students to take the best care of the instrument we are all born with. After intense study with Dr. Malinda Haslett, I have been able to incorporate much of my learning on a daily basis into my general music classes, as well as into weekly practice with my 4th and 5th grade choir students for whom singing and constant use of their voice is their passion. With delivery of my lecture recital, "Purposeful by Design: Implementing a More Productive Warm-Up," this past November I was able to complete my Masters in Music Pedagogy in December of 2019.

Aside from continued professional growth, I have also loved growing as a person in large part thanks to this area. I never would have discovered my passion for hiking if it weren't for having moved to Fryeburg, I never would have run a half-marathon if Girls on the Run hadn't needed a coach all those years ago, and I wouldn't have met the excellent colleagues who I am now lucky to call friends, among other innumerable ripples made possible by being a part of this community.

Christina Zahn

General Music K-4

christina.zahn@msad72.org