It's not often that elementary school music teachers get to sing with their colleagues, but on Wednesday, 16 educators from the Flathead Valley gathered on the Glacier High School performance hall stage to do just that.  

The teachers became students, learning new and popular pieces to bring back to their classrooms, in reading sessions held during a free professional development clinic led by Youth Chorus of Kansas City Artistic Director Bethany Main, who was in Kalispell on a two-day residency.   

"Sometimes we are an island in our own buildings and it's important to get together and be inspired, reinvigorated," said Main, who is a composer and a clinician.  

The group of mostly elementary school teachers, with a couple of middle and high school teachers in the mix, participated in sessions that focused on building strong elementary choir programs — from fostering engaging class rehearsals to planning and structuring successful concerts.  

Unlike their middle and high school counterparts where choir is an elective or requires an audition — elementary music teachers get to teach all students, which is why some of the sessions focused on classroom management and tips and techniques to work on the challenging, but common, aspects of helping "young voices" develop musically as it pertains to tone quality, blend and pitch matching, for example.  

"We see every student and are creating opportunities for them to make music in a million different ways," Main said.  

As elementary teachers, they incorporate instruments, plan performances and concerts, skills that are typically learned on the job as opposed to college, according to Main.  

Her goal for the clinic was to have participants leave with "concrete tools, fresh ideas and a stronger sense of how to build rehearsals that are efficient, engaging, and lead to performances both you and your students feel proud of." 

As a former high school band teacher, participant Sheri Hand was brushing up on her choir skills as the choir and band teacher at West Valley School. Hand is also the Montana Music Education Association state manager-elect. She said music is important for children as it helps them build improvisation, creativity and social skills, in addition to music education.   

Edgerton Elementary School teacher Claire Gutschenritter was attending for a similar reason, except her situation involved being moved from the classroom to the music room based on the school's needs. 

"It's my second year as a music teacher," Gutschenritter said. "It's exciting because I have a music background. I wanted to be a music teacher and I love it." 

"I've learned a lot about engagement, classroom management and using the body and voice for play," she said about the clinic.  

Organized by the Kalispell-based nonprofit Bear Grass Performing Arts, the professional developing clinic was free to participants through a Montana Arts Council grant.  

Sitting behind the grand piano was accompanist and Bear Grass Performing Arts Executive Director Nathan Connell.  

Connell, who was a former choir teacher at Glacier, said he initially brought in Main to lead a clinic for the nonprofit's two Kalispell student choirs, and thought why not extend the opportunity for teachers to glean from her expertise in a training that was free and accessible. He said it's a challenge to find either, especially for elementary music teachers.  

Connell noted that one of the main professional development opportunities for K-12 music educators is through the annual Montana Music Educators Association Conference, which is not always accessible due to cost and distance. This year's conference was held in Bozeman earlier this month.  

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.

    Bethany Main, artistic director of the Youth Chorus of Kansas City leads Flathead County music teachers in a reading session during the "Teaching Young Voices to Sing" professional development clinic, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Glacier High School (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Bethany Main, artistic director of the Youth Chorus of Kansas City leads Flathead County music teachers in a reading session during the "Teaching Young Voices to Sing" professional development clinic, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Glacier High School (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)