Building a music program from the ground up

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Sandra Abbott became the music director at Seeley-Swan High School last January. She is now teaching general music to all ages at Seeley Lake Elementary School including band to all sixth, seventh and eighth graders. She enjoys watching students learn and looks forward to rebuilding the music programs at SLE and SSHS.

Abbott started playing the piano when she was five years old. Her father played the trumpet and realized she was playing by ear. They started her in lessons with a local piano teacher in Missoula so she could learn to read music. 

"I loved playing and really took to the lessons," said Abbott. "Playing the piano provides an outlet to relax and focus just on music and not everything that is going on in the world."

Abbott picked up the clarinet in the fourth grade when the grade school music director recommended it to her.

"It was difficult at first but with practice I really came to enjoy playing in the pep band and later in the marching band," said Abbott.

Abbott graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education and Performance from the University of Montana in 1976. Her primary instrument is the piano and she also plays the clarinet.

"At that time music teaching jobs were few and far between," wrote Abbott in an email. "I went to work for the Forest Service in Human Resources with the plan that I would eventually find a teaching job."

Abbott worked for the Forest Service in Montana, Oregon and Washington. She taught private lessons, raised her two sons and continued playing piano and clarinet every opportunity she had. She maintained her teaching certification by taking classes in the evenings and on weekends until 1998.

Abbott retired after almost 39 years with the Forest Service. Since she had held a Montana teaching license, she started the process of renewing it.

Abbott looked for an opportunity to help with music in the community. She volunteered her time as an accompanist for several of the students' vocal and instrumental solos at district and state music festivals in 2018. She also worked at SSHS as a substitute music teacher.

When the music teacher left, the school was unable to find a permanent music teacher for the 2018-2019 school year. Abbott read an article in the Seeley Swan Pathfinder that said the school would be left with no music teacher. 

"I talked with the principal at the time and agreed to take on the music program so the students who were still in the program could finish the school year and participate in music festivals and have a spring concert," said Abbott. "I knew there were some really talented students and I didn't want to see the program disappear because I knew how much it meant to them."

Missoula County Public Schools hired Abbott in January 2019 as the SSHS music director. She taught on an emergency license through June. This summer she got her Class C teaching license and has three years to obtain her full credentials again.

When asked, Abbott agreed to work as a part time music teacher at SLE this year.

"Without an elementary music program, we have chopped off the roots of the program and the high school program will not exist," wrote Abbott. "I could see the numbers of students participating in the high school were dwindling and I wanted to help rebuild it." 

Abbott teaches pre-kindergarten through fifth grade general music classes and conducts sixth, seventh and eighth grade bands. She is grateful for the leadership at both SSHS and SLE working together and for the community support. Retired band teachers Bev Evans and Bob Green have been volunteering their time to help get the grade school program running.

"Since they didn't have music last year, the program is being built from the ground up but progress is being made," wrote Abbott.

For Abbott the music program at both schools is helpful in many ways.

"It helps with stress and students tend to do better in math when they are involved in music," wrote Abbott.

Abbott enjoys facilitating learning about music and helping students accomplish something new. She loves watching the students get to the point of performing during the high school solo and ensemble festival.

Since this is Abbotts first time teaching all grades, learning how to work with all the different ages has been a challenge but one she has enjoyed. She invites the community to the SLE Holiday Concert Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. in the SLE gymnasium.

When Abbott is not teaching, she enjoys walking her dogs, playing music, spending time with her grandchildren and reading.