I recently interviewed the interim choir teacher for the New Castle High School.  Mr. Forsberg graciously took the job as our substitute choir teacher when our beloved Mrs. Geary took unexpected time off.  Mr. Forsberg came around January of last school year and is staying until about October of this year. We decided to interview our amazing choir teacher and ask him a couple questions.  

Why did you want to be a choir teacher?

  Mr. Forsberg wanted to be a choir teacher because he has been doing music all his life, since he was four years old!  He has done district chorus and voice lessons. At first, Mr. Forsberg wanted to be an architect, for the good income, but he has so much fun with music that he couldn’t help but go to college for music.  

What do you consider your greatest asset as a teacher?

  “My greatest asset is definitely my enthusiasm.”  states Mr. Forsberg. He goes on to explain how he just wants everyone to enjoy music just as much as he does.  He is so passionate and supportive of all his students.

Describe the proper classroom atmosphere.  

  Mr. Forsberg says that a proper classroom atmosphere would be one where everyone is involved and engaged in the lesson.  He wants everyone to feel safe to try new things and sing out, that everyone should be able to be themselves. Mr. Forsberg feels that everyone in the class should be encouraging of each other.   

How has your teaching changed in the past two years?

  Mr. Forsberg was retired before he came to teach our choir.  However, before he retired, he used to teach elementary choir.  Mr. Frorsberg feels that the music he is teaching now is much more mature, the pieces are more difficult, and the students voices are much more developed.  

If we were to ask another (non music related) teacher about you as a colleague, what would they say?

  “Well I hope they’d say good things about me.” Says Mr. Forsberg.  He would like to be viewed as a good colleague. Though he doesn’t get as much interaction as he would like, Mr. Forsberg is very friendly and tries to be helpful whenever he can.  

Discuss the process you use in developing the singing voice.  

  According to mr. forsburg, to develop the singing voice, its easiest to just use simple, easy exercises.  A lot of the time, people focus more often on the exercise, rather than how its effecting the voice, that’s why it’s important that they are easy to do and not hard to think about.  

Give an example of one of your recent musical challenges with a student, how did you address the problem?

  “I had a student who wasn’t too happy with the class and what we were doing that day.” Mr Forsberg told me that he had a talk with the student asking about the golden rule, “are you treating others the way you’d want to be treated?” he asked and when the student replied with a no, they sorted it out and how to fix the problem.  Mr Forsberg told me that it’s just easier to keep a positive attitude when dealing with difficult students.

Describe a good choral sound, how would you go about developing the sound?

  “A good choral sound is one where all the voices mix.” says Mr. Forsberg.  When all the different harmonies and pitches blend together, Mr. Forsberg describes it as magic.  

What strategies would you use to attract more male voices?

Our choir teacher says he would find things that boys enjoy and incorporate that into singing.  “find things that keep them engaged.” says Mr. Forsberg.

How many public performances would you schedule in a year?

Mr. Forsberg had done as many as twenty-five performances from Veterans day to New Years.  He wants to do as many performances as he can and Mr. Forsberg even wants to take his choir to festivals, parks, and other events to preform.

A few parting words that Mr. Forsberg left me with are, ” keep on singing.”  He believes that if what you’re doing isn’t enjoyable, then why are you doing it?