Tracy (Klessig) Pallesen 2000-present
Kristopher Williams 2001-2003
Andrew Ladendorf 2003-2008
Brandon Lamm 2008-present
Olive Peterson 2016-2020
Katelin Parkinson 2020-2021
Scott Benson 2022-present
Freeport School Music 2000-present:
In 2000, Dung Pham resigned, and Tracy (Klessig) Pallesen filled the position of co-director of orchestras for Freeport School District No. 145. Pallesen earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1998 from University of Wisconsin Whitewater, studying piano under Jo Ann Hobbs and violin and viola under Dr. Sam McClure. Her Master of Music Education degree was fulfilled through Northern Illinois University with the completion of this research. Pallesen has performed as piano soloist with symphonies on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. She has also played violin and viola with Beloit-Janesville Symphony, Clinton Symphony, Starlight Theater, Madison Chamber Orchestra, and Janesville Performing Arts Center Musical Theater, and twice with the Esterhazy Symphony in Eisenstadt, Austria.
The Freeport school orchestra program has undergone many changes in the past twenty-four years, mostly in personnel and class structure. With a history of such long-tenured directors as Kubitz, Seeman, McLain, and Felder, the turnover in the past years has been disappointing. In 2001, Felder resigned to teach in her hometown of Rockford. Kristopher Williams, alumnus of the orchestra (1987-1994), filled the position for two years. Although he had earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Northern Illinois University, he did not have the teacher training or certification to continue his work in Freeport. In an effort to better serve the orchestra students, Pallesen asked to have the two positions restructured from the former team-teaching approach. With her passion for working with young children, Pallesen took on the new role as Middle School and Junior High School Orchestra Director, directing 6th through 8th grade orchestras and teaching 5th and 6th grade lessons. Andrew Ladendorf stepped in as the new High School Orchestra Director, directing the 5th grade and high school orchestras and assisting with 5th through 8th grade lessons. This was Ladendorf’s first teaching position after graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. He continued his work in Freeport until 2008.
When Felder resigned, the district increased her former position to full time by including some general music courses at the junior high. Since then, a steady surge in enrollment has secured that second full time string position without the necessity of teaching general music courses. Middle school orchestras over the past decade+ have grown from approximately 70 students in 5th-6th grades to an average of 100. Retention to the junior high has also been significant. Junior high string personnel numbered in the low 30s but have reached to 77.
In 2000, Freeport School District No. 145 was recognized with the Lincoln Award for Excellence. The superintendent invited the high school orchestra to represent the district and perform for the opening of the Recognition Ceremony in Chicago. This orchestra is part of a Grammy award winning program. The Freeport High School Music Program has been recognized for over a decade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Grammy Foundation as a Grammy Signature School. Besides these large group honors, individual students from the orchestra continuously receive recognition for excellence. Each year, numerous students are selected after auditioning for IMEA District Festival.
A new tradition, spotlighting the study of art has begun in Freeport. The World Arts Festival began in 2002 as a student showcase reflecting the many cultures represented by the students of Freeport. It was designed to nurture and develop diverse talents in the creative and performing arts from grades PreK-12. Student showcases include dance, performance ensembles, plays, visual art, and ethnic foods. The school district provides a rotating grant of $3000 to fund commissioned work, guest artists, etc. The junior high orchestra has benefited from the grant money with a commissioned piece and workshops with nationally renowned jazz violinist Randy Sabien, and multiple opportunities to work with professional Mariachi Ensembles from the Chicago area.
Brandon Lamm began his work as the director of the Freeport High School Orchestra in 2008. He is a former student of the program from 1994-2002, having been concertmaster 2001-2002 and an All-State participant in 2002. He received an Associate of Arts in Music from Highland Community College in 2004 and Bachelor of Music Education from Northern Illinois University in 2007. Dung Pham, former FHSO director, was his mentor for student teaching at Hoffman Estates. Lamm is a very active musician, performing with the Clinton Symphony, Rock Valley College Orchestra, and Starlight Theater Summer Musicals in addition to being a substitute player with the Rockford Symphony, Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra, and Dubuque Symphony. Although his position was filled by Olive Peterson in 2016, he has continued to serve the students in our orchestras as a supplemental lesson teacher for grades 5-6 and as the HS director for the 21-22 school year.
In 2010, the district restructured the grade levels of the Freeport schools, creating two middle schools grades 5 through 8. This made necessary the addition of another part time orchestra and band instructor, more equipment, and a new curriculum map for the ensembles. Where there had been one orchestra per grade level, grades 5-8, this doubled, with one at each school and eliminating the 5th grade ensemble. Additionally, this created a barrier to 6th grade students' participation. They had to choose between participating in an instrumental ensemble and having other electives such as art, choir, drama, or computers. The ensembles, some of which had different directors due to personnel availability, were split in half between the two schools and only had the opportunity to practice together as a complete ensemble on concert days. FSD returned to two separate schools, one for grades 5-6 and one for grades 7-8, in 2018.
Scott Benson is currently the HS director, beginning his work with the FSD Orchestras in 2022. Benson earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Rhode Island in 2009. While there, he was principal cellist and a member of the honors string quartet for three years. Following graduation, the first twelve years of his teaching career were spent in the Norwalk, CT school district, where he directed the Brien McMahon High School orchestra program in addition to teaching regular and Advanced Placement music theory and IB music courses. He co-founded the CT Western Region Festival String Orchestra, served as ensemble manager for the New England Music Festival, and performed as a freelance musician in the greater New York City area. Benson currently serves as principal cellist for the Highland Community College Orchestra and frequently subs with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.