Interview Assessment #2

Name of person interviewed: Cody Alarcon

Profession: Choral Music Education

Location and business name: Heritage High School, Frisco, Texas

Date of interview: 18 October 2018

Time: 9:00 AM

Through the interview I conducted with choir director Cody Alarcon, I learned about how

he fulfills his duties as a music educator, as well as specifically what it is like to teach choir

students (versus my previous research about band music education). My original idea was to just

find band directors to conduct interviews with, but in order to expand my topic of interest and

branch out, I thought it would be appropriate to conduct interviews with other types of music

educators. As research students, we are encouraged to gather as much information as possible

about our field of study, not just a specific job title, so therefore I went ahead and scheduled to

meet with a choir director in my area.

During the interview, we discussed many topics, even more so than the first interview I

conducted with my middle school band director. I started by asking about what a normal day is

like in his job, and he responded with an explanation of the structure of how he usually conducts

each of his classes. He also spent time talking about how choir is different from band from both a

program and student perspective. Basically, how choir students respond differently to their

directors than band students do and that the dynamic of the programs differ greatly. Then, from

the choir versus band education topic, Mr. Alarcon gave me some advice about being a music

education major in college, because if I have any interest whatsoever in directing a choir, I

should go to a school that has a music education program that includes choir, orchestra, and band
all together. The next question I asked him pertained to giving criticism to students; how to do so

in a professional manner without discouraging or offending them. Mr. Alarcon’s response

focused on how personality plays a big part in being a music educator, and the type of person the

director would want to be with their students. He said that many directors he has known has

gotten results and obedience from students through being scary and making students fear them,

but that he just could not be that way. Mr. Alarcon teaches all of his ensembles in a very high-

energy, fun-loving environment that just as well encourages students to work hard, with the

occasional serious talk about behavior. Other things I asked about and we discussed included

how much he had to deal with overbearing parents and different techniques I could use to keep

students engaged and to help teach them concepts. Our discussion of all of the mentioned topics

basically concluded the interview. A highlight of this interview was all of the times when he

would interject helpful pieces of advice about how to run a rehearsal or how to respond when

certain situations would arise with students perhaps not paying attention or being ready.

Everything that I learned in this interview will be put to good use. Speaking with Mr.

Alarcon enlightened me to the choral side of music education, allowing me to realize how

amazing it would be to have the opportunity in college to study all kinds of music education, not

just band. This interview encouraged me to expand my boundaries and gave me a lot of new

information about being a choral director as well as a music educator in the public school system

as well. However, I was surprised by the fact that most music educators are certified to teach

choir, orchestra, and band for Early Childhood education to twelfth grade, but yet in the school

system I have grown up in, the roles of music educators are limited to their specific age grouping

and classification of instrument. Everything I learned by doing this interview was extremely

exciting, and encourages me to look into choral music education in college and in the future.