A high note for innovative music teacher

District 30 music teacher Emilia Kister says she has always tried to be on the cutting edge of music education. Now, she has been rewarded for efforts, selected as a recipient of the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award.

Kister, who teachers at the Forest Road and Shaw Avenue schools, is one of only 50 teachers chosen from across the country to participate in a the three-day symposium for music educators at Yale University in June. The topic will be music in schools. There will be a program with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a panel of distinguished music educators, numerous workshops and an awards dinner. The trip is all expenses paid.

But she is perhaps most excited about the chance to meet other music school teachers from across the United States. “I think I’m going to be inspired and excited by what other people do,” she said.

Additionally, Kister said she is looking forward to talking about the work she does in her classroom, and the work of her students. “I’m very proud of how far my students have come,” she said. “It’s cool for me to be able to share that with other people.”

Kister shares much of the work done by her students on the Internet. She has her own website, www.kistermusic.com, which features music recordings, podcasts and more. Her site also includes a blog, which Kister just started to share stories about what her students are learning. She said she also plans to blog from the symposium at Yale.

One of Kister’s favorite activities is her “Going to a Concert” series. Kister said about four or five times a year, she will attend a children’s concert at Lincoln Center in New York City, and invite her students and their parents to come. At past concerts, she has gotten dozens of people to come, and always gathers them for a picture in front of the fountain there. She will next attend “Peter and the Wolf” on May 7.

Kister said as a music teacher, it is her responsibility to get music out into the community. “That’s my job,” she said, “and I take it very seriously.”