Schools

Janice Kueppers: Inspiring Young Singers for 20 Years at Walter Reed

By  by Zachary Grove, 8th Grade

I wasn’t always a singer; in fact, I started singing just about two years ago. I’ve watched choirs perform before, singing show-stopping numbers all in four-part fantastical harmony, yet I was never interested in singing until I happened to come across Janice Kueppers. It was towards the end of my first year at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California, when I saw Mrs. Kueppers’ choir perform, and I was entranced by their majestic sounding harmonies and complex rhythms. Although I wasn’t in choir, I began to realize that singing was something that I very much wanted to do and experience. So when I heard that auditions for the barbershop chorus were being held by Mrs. Kueppers, I signed up, auditioned, and the rest was history.

I ended up singing not only in barbershop chorus, but advanced choir as well. And I truly developed my love of singing from one amazing teacher: Janice Kueppers. From her hilarious cackle to her, ah, “funny” jokes, Mrs. Kueppers was just a great force of kindness and warmth. She fostered my love for singing, and urged me and my peers on to great heights, soaring above what we previously thought that we could do with our voices. She was the driving force of our determination, and compelled us to sing wonderfully at every concert and performance. Because of Mrs. Kueppers, both barbershop chorus and advanced choir greatly prospered, and at the Music in the Parks Festival, we took home a few trophies. My first year of singing was a magical one thanks to Janice Kueppers. And then news came that she was retiring after my eighth grade year. Naturally, we were all extraordinarily upset, and knew that her last year would have to be the best of them all.

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So when eighth grade rolled around, we couldn’t wait to make Mrs. Kueppers’ last year her best year. But instead, I found her making my last year at Walter Reed the best one of all. Her staunch determination to make our concert choir the best was awe-inspiring, and her cackle was of course ever-present. We sang, laughed, and listened to Mrs. Kueppers story time. I remember once she told us about when she put uncooked meatballs into marinara sauce and thought that the meatballs were ready to serve. These hilarious stories mixed with the amazing songs we were singing made for a fantastic first semester. I will never forget the hard work that Mrs. Kueppers put into all of the singing groups, including the boys octet and quartet, both of which I was part of. Mrs. Kueppers made the first semester one to remember.

When it was second semester, it hit me: this would be Mrs. Kueppers’ last semester as a choir teacher. But this was soon forgotten as Mrs. Kueppers prepped concert choir for the Festival of Gold in San Francisco. Every weekday, she taught us the songs with a passion and will to make us the best that we could be. This is one of the many wonderful things about Mrs. Kueppers: she cares more about the choir than she does about most other things. The care that she put into the choir was simply awesome, and her strong determination to let us explore our full potential was inspiring.

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Sometime in February, before the Festival of Gold, Mrs. Kueppers showed all how she is not only a fantastic choral teacher, but an amazing person as well. She planned the Concert for the Cure, a concert showcasing not only her choirs, but other professional performers as well. She made sure that the money earned from this charitable event went towards cancer research, showing Mrs. Kueppers’ caring soul and loving heart. As any person could probably tell, Mrs. Kueppers had many things on her plate; she was worrying about Concert for the Cure, the Festival of Gold, and the spring concert at about the same time. But she made it through this time while keeping her composure, which I found pretty cool since she also had to deal with hormonal eighth graders.

After countless hours of prepping for the Festival of Gold, it finally arrived. We travelled to San Francisco, performed, and scored two 84s and an 85 out of 100. Although we did not receive first place, Mrs. Kueppers congratulated us with tears in her eyes, telling us about how she was so proud of us and how she really had a great time teaching us all of the music and putting in all of the hours. But what she didn’t realize was how much we were actually proud of her.

From the two years I spent getting to know Mrs. Kueppers, I found out that behind the great choral teacher lay a wonderful person, one of the kindest and most caring people I have ever met in my entire life. She made us all love singing, with her piercing laugh, her hilarious stories, and her will to make us sound the best that we could. Although she is retiring and moving from Los Angeles, she will forever remain with me in my heart and in my memories as not only my fantastic choral teacher, but as my friend. Thank you Mrs. Kueppers for a great two years, both filled with laughter, crying, wonderful singing, and of course, cackling.

 

Comments From Other Students:

 

“She's really forgiving about most things, and is really nice and respectful to kids.”

-Ezra Hect, Eighth Grade Choir

 

“That one time she made meatballs for her family but she didn't cook the meat,

that story made me a better singer.”

-Kate Farewell, Eighth Grade Choir and Barbershop Chorus

 

“She loves us kids almost as much as she loves the music. She has devoted her whole life to her students and the arts, and we are so grateful to have had such a positive influence in our lives.”

-Sofia Montrone, Eighth Grade Choir and Barbershop Chorus

 

“Mrs. Kueppers has not only assisted students to just become better singers, but has cared for each individual as a person. She let me join Barbershop, 8th grade Concert Choir, and the barbershop boys octet even though I didn't have any as a real class and had just started singing. She has given opportunity to students who really had the desire and the want to become better singers and musicians alike. Her thoughtful and compassionate personality has forever changed the lives of those who have wanted to go down a path in the music world.”

-Keshan Huang, Eighth Grade Choir and Barbershop Chorus

 


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