Published on December 22, 2009

Anne Hamilton conducts the annual performance of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” at the North Country Union High School Christmas concert on December 16. Photos by Joseph Gresser

NEWPORT — Anne Hamilton, 2009 Music Educator of the Year, didn’t exactly start out to teach music.

“When I decided I wanted to be a music teacher was about a year after I started teaching music,” she said during a recent interview.

Ms. Hamilton recalled having a really good music teacher at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey, but said that she didn’t have the confidence to declare as a music major when she started college at Ohio Wesleyan University.

“I was thinking about majoring in math,” she said.  She eventually gave in, majoring in music and taking education classes as well.  “Because

Pedal monstrosities get a thorough airing at the Christmas concert as the North Country men’s ensemble sings the Inkspots’ hit “Your Feets Too Big.” From left to right the singers are: Josh Clinger, Will Castle, Kyle Quirion, Avery Dull, Ben Stevens, Alex DeRoehn, Andrew DeCelles, Owen Tatum, Steven Bellavance, and Andrew Horne.

everyone said it was good to have that to fall back on,” Ms. Hamilton said.

She said she went out to Ohio because she wanted to get away from the East Coast, even though the proximity of her home to New York City gave her the opportunity to attend many professional concerts and performances.

After receiving her bachelor of music education degree, Ms. Hamilton earned a master’s degree in creative arts in learning from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When her husband, Amos Hamilton, finished his service in Vietnam, the couple came to Vermont looking for teaching jobs in 1972.

“We walked into the building, and everyone told us, if you’re smart you’ll get into Customs instead.”

Mr. Hamilton took that advice and rose to become the head of the Derby Customs station.  She did not and taught music in Charleston, Morgan, Holland, and Brighton for nine years before moving to North Country Union Junior High School in Derby for another six years, before moving to the high school.

The North Country women’s ensemble sings “There is No Rose,” accompanied by Owen Tatum on oboe. In the back row, from left to right, are: Alicia Quirion, Gabby Cogan, and Tara Jones; in the second row are: Shannon Harkey, Rebecca Fabian, Kyla Paul, and Haley Wilcox; and in front are: Sylvia Woodmansee, Kaleigh Clowery, and Caitlin Smith.

At North Country Ms. Hamilton says she usually has about 80 to 85 students a year.  She teaches three sections of chorus to give students the greatest opportunity to fit the class into their schedules.

This, she said, does result in the unusual situation of having three groups that combine into a single ensemble only on the day of their performance.  Some classes may be shy of basses, and the students have no idea of how their pieces will sound until they hear themselves in final rehearsal.

The men’s and women’s ensembles and the select chorus, which is an auditioned group, don’t have that problem.  They work hard to learn the demanding pieces that Ms. Hamilton brings to them.

Ms. Hamilton says that she goes to a lot of conferences and collects pieces that may work for her students.  She said she has several filing cabinets full of music and draws from them in planning a concert.

Sometimes she chooses a piece because it calls for instrumental accompaniment and a soloist is available.  This year the women’s ensemble sang “There is No Rose,” in part because Ms. Hamilton knew that Owen Tatum could handle the oboe part.

Although Ms. Hamilton is all business when she conducts, her concert choices often display her sense of humor.  This year the men’s ensemble gave a rowdy rendition of the Inkspots’ classic “Your Feets Too Big.”

Last year the select chorus performed a version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that included false starts and stops, abrupt shifts from song to song and, eventually, the sight of Ms. Hamilton stomping off in feigned disgust.  It was a great hit.

Ms. Hamilton also teaches composition at the high school, and she enthusiastically described a recent performance given by the Vermont

Kyle Quirion solos on alto sax as the North Country jazz ensemble plays “The Christmas Waltz.” His band mates, from left to right, include: Andrew Decelles, Josh Clinger, Kai Danderand, and Harry Foster.

Symphony Orchestra in Burlington that featured compositions by Joshua Clinger and Hannah Chambers.

Ms. Hamilton asked some of her students to write music for fairy tales, and the orchestra chose Mr. Clinger’s and Ms. Chamber’s piece for their “Play Me A Story” matinee at the Flynn Center.

The piece they came up with, a fantastic tale about a vegetarian wolf, was performed before an audience of 1,200 schoolchildren on a bill with Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Ms. Hamilton said.

“They laughed and liked it,” she said.

A number of Ms. Hamilton’s students study composition as part of the Vermont MIDI Project, a statewide program that links student composers with professional counterparts via the Internet.  (MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface.)

Ms. Hamilton’s participation in the MIDI Project, which goes back to its beginnings in 1995, was one the contributions cited in a letter of recognition from the Vermont Music Educators Association’s (VMEA) executive board.  She currently serves as president of the MIDI Project’s board of directors.

Ms. Hamilton’s musical activities are not limited to her work at the high school, she also directs Northsong, a community chorus, and directs her church choir.

James Chapman leads the North Country concert band in a rousing performance of the “Troika” from Lieutenant Kijé by Sergei Prokofiev.

At the end of every one of North Country’s Christmas concerts, alumni of North Country Union High School and Sacred Heart School are invited to join current students at the front of the auditorium to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.

While James Chapman stands on the stage and conducts the North Country concert band, Ms. Hamilton leads the singers who crowd together on the risers.

At the end of the piece, after the applause died away, Ms. Hamilton was surrounded by former students.  One showed off an engagement ring, others just hugged her.

Ms. Hamilton’s face lights up as she spots each familiar face.  Earlier she commented that students graduate each year leaving her to wonder how to replace their contributions.  Then she sees the younger students blossom.

Ms. Hamilton said that is one of the advantages of working with a student for a full four years.

At the start of this year’s concert, Ms. Hamilton was called forward to be recognized for receiving the VMEA Music Educator of the Year award.  North Country Principal Bill Rivard and board member Deb Cogan of Newport presented her with a large poinsettia to mark the occasion.

Ms. Hamilton accepted the recognition with grace, as she had the night before when the entire school board gave her a standing ovation.  But although she acknowledged the award presented by her professional peers is “a great honor,” Ms. Hamilton is far more animated when discussing her students’ accomplishments rather than her own.