Entertainer

Charles Creighton, the orchestra teacher at Crescent Valley High School, received the John C. McManus Distinguished Teacher Award during the Jan. 14-17 annual convention of the Oregon Music Educators Association.

Cherie Stroud, the principal at CV, also was honored as the Outstanding Administrator of the Year at the Jan. 16 awards banquet in Eugene.

“It was really quite funny as I had come to the banquet to honor Cherie and she had come to honor me,” Creighton said. “We were both surprised.”

According to Steve Zielke, director of choral studies at Oregon State University and a former OMEA president, the McManus award is the highest honor the organization has to give. The OMEA represents about 1,100 choir, band and orchestra teachers across the state.

“Winners of this award are a ‘Who’s Who’ of hall of fame music educators in our state. It reflects a lifetime of passion and dedication to their art, as well as a commitment to advocacy and service,” Zielke explained as he presented the award Saturday night.

Creighton’s work with both middle and high school orchestra programs, as well as with the Corvallis Youth Symphony and Elementary Strings Program, is nationally known and respected, Zielke added, and more than 20 of his former students are working in major orchestras throughout the world.

“It’s always nice to be recognized in front of your peers, especially with so many other great teachers surrounding you,” said Creighton.

A teacher in the Corvallis School District since 1982, he recently announced his retirement at the end of this school year.

Creighton, along with fellow music teachers Emily Thielen and Kristine Janes, were among several to nominate Stroud for the Outstanding Administrator award. All three cited her consistent support of the choral, band and orchestra programs at Crescent Valley. Each of them mentioned how deeply she cares for each student and staff member and how she goes out of her way to attend as many concerts as she can, including music competitions outside of Corvallis.

“The Outstanding Administrator award was a complete surprise,” Stroud said. “I will treasure this recognition forever.”

Thielen, the director of choirs at CV, shared the many ways Stroud supported her during her first year of teaching four years ago. “She came to every concert, made time for my questions, and gave me a budget to purchase music and supplies. She has always encouraged me to build my program and grow as a music educator.”

Creighton wrote, “During my 37 years as a music educator – working for dozens of principals in many different elementary, middle and high schools — I have never had the support and enthusiasm that I have now from my administrator.”

Zielke said the awards committee was impressed by the success of the CV program over the last five years and the “unusual amount of support she (Stroud) was able to give music education during particularly difficult times” when many schools were forced to reduce their music budgets.

Last year, all three programs took first place in their division in the OMEA State Championships.

“Cherie excels in treating music as equally important as other activities, including both academic and extracurricular activities, especially athletics,” Zielke said.

(Information from Carol Reeves, Corvallis School District 509J)

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