Have you attended a Mount Vernon High School Choir concert recently?
If so, then you know the wonderful and demanding program that is offered in Mount Vernon. If not, you have missed out on an incredible experience to hear voices being trained to sing in ways that not many high school students in the area get until they attend college.
This is all because of the choir director at Mount Vernon High School: Mr. Thad Wilkins. For 12 years now, he has built the choir program into a strong and competitive one that has gained a reputation for being one of the best in the region. Once again it is an example of big things coming out of a small town.
I grew up singing in my school choirs and so I was thrilled when we moved here to find such a strong choral program for my daughters. However, I saw the stark contrast between Mount Vernon and other schools when I attended a concert at the University of Iowa last fall where choirs from Iowa City high schools sang with choirs from the University. We were at the concert because my daughter and other recent Mount Vernon graduates were in the Iowa choirs.
The concert began with the Iowa City high school choirs. They were from various schools in the city. They came out in a variety of black clothing, which made me grateful for the choir robes that Mount Vernon students wear. I hear the students complain that they are hot, but they create uniformity and help the audience to just focus on the music being sung.
These students were also not serious about their music; they giggled through their pieces, and fidgeted all throughout their performances. They gave off the impression that they were there because it was required for their grade, not because they loved the music they were singing.
When the University Choirs came out to sing, I could immediately spot the Mount Vernon alumni. We were sitting in the back of the concert hall, so I couldn’t see faces clearly, but I could find them because of their poise, the way their eyes were fixed on their conductors, and how their hair was pulled back so that it didn’t distract. These former students of Mr. Wilkins blended their voices in these new choirs and gave a beautiful concert.
It really wasn’t until this moment and another concert a month later that I came to realize what a gift it is to have Mr. Wilkins in Mount Vernon. I had always been impressed with him and his dedication to his students and the music he creates with them, but I had never quite comprehended just how different he is from other choir directors and how he has shaped the choral program at Mount Vernon.
I have heard people grumble that there isn’t a show choir in Mount Vernon. Truth be told, Mr. Wilkins will never be involved with show choir. I have heard rumor that he has said that if he is ever told to form a show choir, he will leave Mount Vernon. He just isn’t about the “razzmatazz” atmosphere of show choir; he would rather teach students to develop their vocal range, the richness and quality of their singing, their ability to blend their voices with others, and their confidence in performing.
His record speaks for itself. He has gone from sending just a few students to the All-State Music Festival to 12 in 2022 and 13 in 2023. To put that number in perspective, Linn-Mar High School had 22 choir students go to All-State in 2023. There is five times the number of students at Linn-Mar (2,273) than there are at Mount Vernon (441) and they only had nine more students qualify for the All-State Choir.
He has had to work hard to rebuild the Choir program after COVID. We all know that when we were able to come back out of the shutdown that we had to be masked for everything and for vocal music, this was no exception. For many students, singing in a mask was just more than they could bear. The number of students enrolled in choir before COVID was 150. He has diligently worked to recruit and get it back to where it now is at 125.
I think what is really commendable about Mr. Wilkins is that he doesn’t just teach the students music. He holds them to high standards and infuses his classes with life lessons such as integrity. Being able to impart character qualities that will help them through life will shape their behavior and help them long after they’ve forgotten all the notes and words to all the pieces they ever learned in his classes. I have heard his students say that when he has given them a compliment they know that he really means it because he is a man of his word.
While there are many who don’t believe in the value of classes in the arts in public education, I know that they give students balance and allow them an outlet during a demanding academic day. We are richly blessed to have art and music educators in Mount Vernon who foster the talents of our students. And, to quote the lyrics of a song that is sung at the annual District All-Sing Concert: “For as long as I have music,/as long as there’s a song for me to sing,/I can find my way; I can see a brighter day./The music in my life will set my spirit free.”