The Director

Hello! My name is Ryan Clarin, and I am so excited to be in the Eisenhower Junior High family as the new choir director! This will be my second year of teaching at EJH, my 15th year teaching, and have taught both junior high and high school choir, with my most recent experience being Daniel Wright Junior High in Lincolnshire for the past four years, where I taught Choir, General Music, Show Choir, and directed our school’s Musical. I received my Bachelor’s in Music Education from Elmhurst College in 2005, my Master’s in Educational Administration from Benedictine University in 2009, and am currently continuing graduate course work at Vandercook College of Music in Chicago. My wife and I currently live in Glen Ellyn, school district 89, and have two kids: Myles is in 2st grade, and Molly is in 4rd grade.

The choir community of educators is a relatively small group, of which I have known and highly respected the excellent choir program at Eisenhower Junior HIgh for many years, under the direction of Puja Ramaswamy and going back to the years of Judy Hanson. I was drawn to Eisenhower due to the wonderful breath and depth of vocal opportunities provided to students; from grade level choirs that meet during the school day, extracurricular groups that focus on popular and a cappella music and choreography, to performance tours, IGSMA solo and ensemble, ILMEA and ACDA honors groups, as well as Musical and Pop! show performances, this is a program that clearly has some talented, excited, passionate, and energetic singers! Of course, all of this is not possible without the help of a supportive community, and it is clear from the District, School administration, and the wonderful group of Choir Booster Parents that Eisenhower has an amazing village of individuals who are dedicated to the success of every student! I am so excited to continue the tradition of the Eisenhower Junior High Choir program.

As a choir director, I strive to instill in our students a love for singing and music through Music Literacy, healthy vocal technique, and the idea that sharing our abilities and gifts with the community is of the utmost importance. I believe choir students should have a foundation in sight-reading to create what I call “hearing eyes” and “seeing ears” - the ability to connect the world of written music with the aural world of music listening and singing. As a trained vocalist and member of a variety of adult professional and community groups, I aim to evoke every student’s most true and authentic voice, in order to elicit as healthy and resonant a vocal tone that rings clearly and beautifully. I am a big believer in providing as many opportunities for our students to share their learning and their voices during the school day as well as outside of it, and I am committed to continuing and expanding all of the amazing opportunities our students have been afforded to at Eisenhower.