The Parkland School District has always been notable for providing students with several opportunities in music education. On Feb. 18, Parkland High School choir students participated in an in-class clinic with an esteemed music educator Dr. Brandon Williams in preparation for their midyear concert.

Williams is well-known for being director of choral activities as well as an associate professor and conductor at Rutgers University, which is highly regarded for its excellence in music programs.

Williams holds degrees from Western Illinois University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Michigan State University. He has decades of experience in music education at the middle and high school at the graduate level and has won several awards recognizing his excellence in music education, including the 2021-2022 Rutgers Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence Award.

Williams visited Parkland High School i to provide each choir ensemble with an in-class clinic. Each clinic began with a vocal warm-up, including several exercises to help students learn how to utilize proper body alignment to enhance their vocal technique.

Williams detailed how posture and muscle engagement work with the voice. The choir then performed their pieces for the midyear concert and received feedback from Williams on how to improve each song.

He encouraged students to be mindful of pronunciation and vowel quality in order to create a stronger, more resonant sound that allowed each piece to come to life.

This clinic allowed Parkland choir students to not only receive feedback, but to experience music education from a new perspective. For many choir students, William’s visit was their first experience with a clinician in their music class.

This clinic was made possible due to a generous grant from the Parkland Education Foundation, allowing these students to broaden their perspectives and education in music.

“This event was an incredibly positive, rewarding experience for me and for the choir students at PHS. Williams is a leader in the field of choral music, and we were so grateful for the opportunity to invite him into our classroom at Parkland. I think every student walked away with new knowlege (me included!) and I’m so appreciative to the Parkland Education Foundation for supporting us with a grant to make these clinics possible for all of our students,” choir teacher Alison Lagan said.

The feedback they received was sure to make their Feb. 23 choir concert an incredible performance.