Hello everyone! I am William Spearman, and I’m so excited to be working as the Chorus teacher this year. I’ve learned in my experience that music can be an awesome avenue of expression, and I’m so excited to work with your family to make the most of this opportunity!

I am originally from Memphis, Tennessee, but I’ve been living in Durham and working at Githens since 2021. I’ve always had an affinity for music; I grew up singing and playing drums in my family church, and I’m happy to say I discovered my love of music in my 7th grade choir class! I continued singing throughout high school, and learned to play guitar the same summer. My high school choir was afforded the opportunity to travel to New York City to perform with an ensemble at Carnegie Hall, which is a core memory I cherish.  I attended Tuskegee University from 2017-2021, and during my matriculation I was a member of the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir as well as student accompanist, Choir President, and Student Conductor. Tuskegee’s choir afforded me the opportunity to “sharpen my sword” as a musician and singer.  My participation in college-level chorus was an eye-opening experience and served as my introduction to the African-American Choral tradition. I graduated in 2021 with my B.S in Health Science. Outside of school, I work part-time at a non-profit academic support program called StudentU as well as serving as a church musician and singing and producing my own music! I’m also the proud papa of an energetic dog named Ghost!

My time in the classroom has also demonstrated the importance of representation in the classroom. When I reflect on my experience, I can see how being myself, and the best version of myself, is paramount to building authentic, meaningful relationships with students. My vision for the group is that we are a cohesive, intermingled community of different cultures and backgrounds where EVERY student feels empowered to participate with fidelity and NO student feels ostracized or discounted. I also see us accomplishing great things and growing in ways we’ve only dreamed of this year. 

I invite you to contact me with any questions or suggestions of how I can make this experience better for you and your student(s)! I also challenge you (as a member of the GMS Choral Community) to brainstorm ideas for growing the program! I look forward to working with you all this year!