The 2002 Award Recipients
Gretchen Betts
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Jeanne Trost
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Gretchen Betts and Jeanne Trost, both of Marquette were the
recipients of the 2002 U. P. Choral Leadership Awards.
Gretchen Betts is a Marquette native who attended the local
parochial schools. She received a Bachelor of Music Education from
Northern Michigan University in 1970 and a Master of Arts in Music
Education in 1976.
From 1970 to 1978 she was a music teacher for the Ishpeming Public schools.
During that time she taught in kindergarten, special education, grades 4-8
and directed middle school choruses and ensembles. She received grants
from the Michigan Council for the Arts to present Orff-Schulwerk workshops
for Upper Peninsula educators and to bring performing and visual artists
into the classroom. Gretchen collaborated with grade 6 reading and art
teachers to develop the C. L. Phelps Related Arts Project using nature as
the inspirational source.
She then taught in the Republic-Michigamme Schools from 1978 to 1987 and
developed a K-12 music curriculum. During this time she directed many
related-arts productions. She received minigrants from the Marquette-Alger
Intermediate School District for song writing folk arts and related-arts
composition workshops with upper elementary students.
She was a co-founder of the Children’s Theater Factory in Los Angeles,
which is a summer day camp offering experience in the performing and visual
arts. In 1981 she received a special proclamation from the Los Angeles
City Council for composing and directing her original music for the Los
Angeles Bicentennial. In 1982 she also received the Award of Merit from
the Michigan Music Educators Association and the Distinguished Service to
Education Award from Phi Delta Kappa.
Gretchen began teaching in the N. I. C. E. Community Schools in 1987. She
has taught K-5 music and directed the middle school choruses and other
ensembles. Her choirs have regularly received superior ratings at Michigan
Schools Vocal Music Association District Choral and Ensemble Festivals.
She continues to work in the multi-cultural areas sharing her knowledge of
the Native American and African American cultures with her students and the
public. She presented classes on African music to social studies methods
students at Northern Michigan University.
In 1995 she was selected as the Music Educator of the Year by the Michigan
Music Education Association. That same year she was awarded a Service to
Education Citation from the Board of Control and president of Northern
Michigan University. She has performed with the Marquette Choral Society
as a mezzo-soprano soloist. She is a charter member of the Cathedral
Carillon at St. Peter Cathedral and has taught liturgical music for lay
ministers of the Marquette Catholic Diocese in 2000. Gretchen currently
performs with other musicians for charitable events and fund raisers using
her original lyrics and compositions arranged for voice, piano, recorders,
dulcimers and Irish folk harps.
Her school administrator stated: “She is an outstanding educator who
exemplifies the highest standards of the teaching profession. She is a
highly motivated teacher who exhibits a true love of music. In her
teaching she transmits and conveys the joy of singing to her students and
provides them with many opportunities to perform and share their music.
Gretchen touches and affects the lives of many students. She instills in
them a positive self-image and an appreciation for the arts.”
Jeanne Trost, a native of Riverview, Michigan, attended Eastern
Michigan University for two years and transferred to Central Michigan
University, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1954. She
received her Masters of Music Education from Northern Michigan University
in 1972.
In 1954 and 1955 she taught in the Midland County Public Schools in grades
K-8. This assignment involved twelve schools, mostly one-room schools.
She traveled 75 miles daily and said: “I felt like I was on the road
more than I was teaching.”
From 1956 through 1960 she taught music in the Weidman Public Schools for
grades K-12. She also taught high school English and was study hall
monitor. She then did substitute teaching for several years.
Jeanne and her family moved to Marquette in 1966 and she began her teaching
career as a part-time music teacher at then Graveraet Junior High in 1968.
She began teaching music at Sandy Knoll in 1971 for grades K-6, later
adding Parkview Elementary School. At one point in time she taught in all
the Marquette Elementary schools, averaging a total of 56 classes every two
weeks.
One of the many programs her choirs participated in was the Community
Choral Collage featuring vocal groups from K-12 and community singers.
Sandy Knoll and Parkview vocal students took part in a combined choral
concert with all the elementary choirs each spring for several years. Her
students presented many programs: a school-wide talent show, Christmas
programs, and musicals to honor special holidays and historic events.
Jeanne and co-workers were involved with their students in the Northern
Michigan University musical productions of “Noah’s Flood”
and “Hansel and Gretel”. These productions included students,
adults, teachers, orchestra, artists, and the community.
She and Skip Aylward, an art teacher, were awarded a National Endowment for
Artists Grant for a dance in the schools component during the 1975-76
school year. This involved correlating music and dance with all areas of
school curriculum. The grant provided the opportunity to attend the Summer
Dance Festival at Duke University to receive training in classroom
activities incorporating music and movement. They brought the Atlanta
Contemporary Dance Company and other professional artists to provide
curriculum-based experiences for Marquette students for a six-week period.
The project drew the attention of many state and national leaders in the
arts community. It proved to be so successful that the grant was renewed
three more times.
In 1978 the Marquette Area Public Schools and Sandy Knoll were invited to
participate in the National Very Special Arts Festival in Washington, D. C.
Students were invited to perform a piece combining music and movement on
“How A Bill Goes Through Congress.” This was a special honor,
because many special-needs children were main-streamed into the school
classrooms.
Jeanne has been involved in directing children and youth choirs and singing
in adult choirs of churches in the cities where she has lived. She is a
charter member of the Marquette Choral Society and served as vice president
on the board through our 25th anniversary celebration in 1996. She was
chairperson for three years on the Choral Society Awards Support
Committee.
Quotations from her former administrators and co-workers praised her love
of music and the way she brought that to her students. “She
captivated her audience, making them anxious to become involved in music.
Jeanne often told little stories about the music they were learning.”
“She was on a mission to provide the best music programs for students
that was physically possible.” Another stated: “Her sunny
disposition, kind heart and sense of humor endeared her to all.”
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Last Update: September 8, 2002
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