Connect Canyons
Ep 67: How a Canyons Teacher is Connecting with Students One Song at a Time
In Canyons, students aren’t the only ones who know the apprehension of auditioning for a role or the thrill of a standing ovation.
Teachers like Hillcrest High’s RaNae Dalgleish bring to the classroom first-hand experience as professional artists — in her case, as a member of one of the most prestigious choirs in the world. Having a professional life outside of teaching can be taxing but is also personally fulfilling, as Dalgleish attests in the latest episode of Connect Canyons.
Whether she’s directing Hillcrest’s award-winning choir or traveling overseas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, sharing the love and light of music is a great privilege and her life’s joy.
In Canyons, students aren’t the only ones who know the apprehension of auditioning for a role or the thrill of a standing ovation.
Teachers like Hillcrest High’s RaNae Dalgleish bring to the classroom first-hand experience as professional artists — in her case, as a member of one of the most prestigious choirs in the world. Having a professional life outside of teaching can be taxing but is also personally fulfilling, as Dalgleish attests in the latest episode of Connect Canyons.
Whether she’s directing Hillcrest’s award-winning choir or traveling overseas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, sharing the love and light of music is a great privilege and her life’s joy.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by Canyons School District. This is a show about what we teach, how we teach and why we get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more. We meet national experts too. Learning is about making connections, so connect with us.
Speaker 3:Here at Canyons School District, our teachers are not only talented inside the classroom, helping keep us the top district in the state, but they also have some hidden talents many may not know about. Welcome to Connect Canyons. I'm your host, Frances Cook. In this episode, we're sitting down with one of our educators whose talent far exceeds the classroom. I'm joined now by Rene Dalglish, Fine Arts teacher at Hillcrest High School. Rene, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 4:It's so good to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3:Of course I'm excited. Other than teaching our aspiring musical artists, up until this year you were actually a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Absolutely, how long were?
Speaker 4:you a member. I was in 2015 to 2023, August 2023. Just until recently.
Speaker 3:Let's go back to the very beginning of you joining the Tabernacle Choir. What made you want to join?
Speaker 4:I kind of grew up a violinist so I actually didn't know I could sing until past college. Then I had a really strange series of events that led me to teach choir. I kind of thought oh man, what am I doing teaching choir? Probably should take some voice lessons. So I started doing that and was encouraged to audition. I actually ended up auditioning three times before I got in. I was just so thrilled and so honored when I finally did make it.
Speaker 3:I've heard the audition process is quite the intense undertaking. Can you walk us through that?
Speaker 4:It was something. It's a year-long process. You first do a recording of yourself, you send that into them and then they screen those. I mean, they have hundreds and hundreds of people audition. They screen those. If you're one of the lucky few that get called back, you get to go in and take a theory test that lasts three hours, three hours worth of theory was just nuts.
Speaker 4:We're all sitting there sweating. There are probably about 50 people. They call back to do the theory test. Then they do. If you get an 80% or above on the theory test, which tests your oral skills and written theory knowledge and all of that stuff, If you're lucky enough to get called back after that, you do a live interview and then live audition in front of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, which was a complete, total out-of-body experience for me. Anyone who goes through that will say the same. I went out of that room and I thought oh, what did I just?
Speaker 4:do. What in the world just happened In my choir school class. There were 26 of us that made it in that year, so they have, after you, make it into the choir. You're really not in the choir. They put you through an intense choir school for three months.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:And then if by the end of that experience you've had 100% attendance and you've passed choir school, they let you be in the choir. So really, from start to finish, it's almost a year in the auditioning.
Speaker 3:It's quite the vetting process.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3:Which is understandable. I mean, the choir has such a massive following. Yeah, you go on world tours now and then. Can you talk about what that's like to take your music and visit such unique places.
Speaker 4:It was incredible the first year I was in the choir in 2016,. We got to go on a European tour and we spent three weeks in Germany and we ended up in France and just the experiences along the way and the concert halls we got to sing in the venues were exquisite. In Vienna, we got to perform in the hall that Brahms himself conducted in and just singing in those spaces that were so magnificent. There aren't words to describe how that felt. And I remember in Berlin we were singing a concert and we sang. Then the walls come tumbling down, that famous spiritual and there was a man from the audience that just said, I think he shouted out bravo, bravo, right. When we were done and we all just knew that it was accepted and loved. Europe is hard. They're pretty hard on their musicians there.
Speaker 4:They expect a lot and we were told going in that we wouldn't maybe get a standing ovation or we might get some polite applause, and the crowds immediately were on their feet just shouting for joy. And it was an incredible experience.
Speaker 3:Well, I was going to ask if you prefer performing at the conference center or abroad, but that sounds just.
Speaker 4:Abroad and people are always appreciative of the choir and you know that your music has reached them. But European audience going in knowing that they're very tough on musicians and expect a lot to get that response was just very cool.
Speaker 3:Well, when you have a legacy like Brahms to live up to it's understandable. You've also toured across the US. Any particular moments stand out to you from those.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I did the Pacific Northwest tour with them and that was I kind of after Europe thought, oh, this is not going to be fun.
Speaker 4:This is not going to be good at all and again performing in Walt Disney Hall in LA, and we made a stop in California. That was an area that was hit by the wildfires. It was 2019. Yeah, so obviously it was before COVID, but we got to see people that were really in need of the music. One of my favorite experiences was in San Francisco and we sang with and had the conductor of the gay man's choir come to us and conduct our choir, and so those bridges that we connected and formed with a lot of the men that got to sing with us was just one of the highlights of my life. It was beautiful to see those connections.
Speaker 3:It's amazing to see how music can just bring people together. It can lift them up in a time of need.
Speaker 4:Sorry, I get a little emotional about it, but it was pretty stunning and to sing and let them. They sang. There were probably about 30 men that got to sing with us in our dress rehearsal and they came for the concert and we were hugging and just it was really very special, that's beautiful.
Speaker 3:Well, let's talk about people you have performed with or places you know, special performances you've had. Do you have any favorite performers that you've had the opportunity to sing with?
Speaker 4:I would have to say Kristen Chenoweth, alex Boye Love.
Speaker 2:Alex Boye he's great, just infectious.
Speaker 3:He's a very happy Humor and joy about him.
Speaker 4:We did a Disney concert and he sang some stuff that just blew your mind. Kristen Chenoweth is just a ball of energy and to be that close with her I got to stand maybe second row and so I was pretty close to her and just her talent is off the charts as far as you know, just the style that she can have for any kind of piece that she sings and she was so warm and friendly with the choir and choir members, you know, and not untouchable.
Speaker 4:Sometimes the guest starters will come in and be a little more untouchable, and rightfully so. I understand that Security wise, but she just kind of does her own thing and is her own person she's. If she wants to talk to the choir members, she would. So that was really, really fun.
Speaker 3:That's great. The choir has followings all across the globe. I mean, you see, you still see albums, christmas albums and things of the then Mormon Tabernacle Choir and their Christmas album have you? They've been called America's Choir, what is it? Do you think that contributes so much to this strong following?
Speaker 4:I think people feel something special when they hear the choir and I think the mission of the choir is to reach into all the dark places in the world, you know, and bring a joy and a light. And I think people recognize that and I think people really need that and I felt it when I was up singing. I felt again, it's hard to get emotional, but I felt that as part of what I needed to do when I sang, you know, is to reach that dark place.
Speaker 3:What are some of your favorite types of songs? That? You sing or that you sing with the choir.
Speaker 4:I actually made a list of my top 10 favorite songs. Hallelujah Chorus is one of them.
Speaker 3:How can you not? Oh sure.
Speaker 4:That was magnificent. And battle him of the republic, climb every mountain. Just again, the broad variety. I just love to sing all styles of music and we got to sing all of Handel's Messiah and record it when I was in and that was stunning. That was a stunning experience.
Speaker 3:You're about the anthems, those powerful pieces, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, come thou found of every blessing. Doesn't get better than that, and Mac Wilberk's arrangements for the choir and Ryan Murphy's arrangements are, just hands down, some of the best that you could ever find with the orchestra.
Speaker 3:Do you have one that stands out as the most difficult to perform?
Speaker 4:Again, Handel's Messiah was hard and Mac wanted us to memorize it. Oh, sure. So I could say that I memorized Handel's Messiah, and I mean, we're talking, how many pages are we talking, not all of the choruses. But I would say two thirds of the choruses were memorized Goodness, and he was a taskmaster at that, and so I think that that was probably one of the most difficult experiences and rewarding experiences to you.
Speaker 3:I mean, that's almost a book of sheet music right?
Speaker 4:Oh, it's three hours long. We're on the music.
Speaker 3:Just memorize it.
Speaker 2:It's fine Just memorize it, no worries.
Speaker 3:So there's a lot that goes into learning these songs and getting ready for these performances. Right, it's not something you can just jump up and sing any old diddy. I imagine a lot of that goes into your teaching. How do you take the lessons that you've learned being a member of the choir and transfer that into your classroom? Yeah, wow.
Speaker 4:I love that question Because I feel like the teacher I am now versus the teacher I was before the choir. I'm totally different. Watching Mac and Ryan work and at the pace at which they had a rehearsal and the techniques that they used to get the blend and the things that choirs need to have technically, it changed me and I was much able to get. I'm more able to get things done at a quicker pace and with no nonsense, which is it's really really fun and my choirs sing a lot better now than when I first started. How many years ago?
Speaker 3:So I love that I'm at the choir You've been teaching for a few decades now.
Speaker 4:Oh yes.
Speaker 3:You've been with the district for 16 years.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:What are some of your standout moments, with your choirs, with your orchestras, the since you've joined us, yeah, oh.
Speaker 4:I've, I've loved touring with my kids and Experiencing those those things when we're maybe in New York or in we've gone to LA many times, disneyland. Performing on a Disney stage with my choirs is, with the show choirs, been a highlight. Just watching these kids Light up and the joy of good choral music has just thrilled me. We We've had some crazy experiences along the way to, you know, with kids and I'll never forget kids. You know leaving stuff behind on on the trips or you know you got your time, oh wait, no, we're out of, we don't have all our costume pieces. You know, those crazy experiences that happened that I, I Just, I just think it's been fabulous and I've loved every minute of teaching.
Speaker 3:You recently just came off a what I hear. I did not get to go myself, but I hear it was a very successful run of into the woods. That included the musical theater department. It included your orchestra. Can you talk to the effort that went into that yeah?
Speaker 4:We as a directing team knew going in that Sondheim is really tricky to do and a very mature Theme as far as and his, his musical theory is just is crazy to pull off.
Speaker 4:Yeah and so we knew going in that it was gonna be a challenge. And in about two weeks before the show, we we just looked each other with such discouragement we thought this isn't gonna happen. It's gonna be a typical high school play, it's gonna be okay, people are gonna like it. But it's not gonna be what we had envisioned for a Hillcrest show, and what we wanted for a Sondheim Musical is kind of a tribute to him as he's passed on recently and we kind of just all, I think, expressed our discouragement and we took remember, we took the orchestra into the Stairwell, me and our my directing friend, austin Hill, and we just said you guys is far and above what you can technically do, and we and we just don't think it's gonna happen. And unless you do, blah, blah, blah, it's, it's. We're not gonna pull this off. And I think we scared him to death. They just said to heck with you guys, we're gonna do this anyway, we're gonna show you that we can do yeah.
Speaker 4:The next day it was a totally different show. I know they had done that up on up on stage as well as in the pit and and that show turned around and it was fabulous. It was such a wonderful experience for these kids when we keep hearing brave reviews. Congratulations. Thank you, it was really great.
Speaker 3:You mentioned some of your favorite memories On your European tour with the choir. Is there? Is there one memory that just You'll never forget? A moment, a performance, a feeling you had.
Speaker 4:Um, I think, Even the first broadcast Just after going through choir school and everything that you go through to be there, that first performance is just the tops. You know, you, you think I made it. I finally am in here singing with the tower deco choir. How can that be a thing? How can this be real? So that's a highlight and, I think, the last broadcast to Feel as hard as it was.
Speaker 2:It's something I'll always cherish, you know, because you know that you did your best, and it was a heavenly experience on earth.
Speaker 3:It's again quite an accomplishment. It's like you mentioned. There's so many people that audition and go through this grueling process just to get to choir school and be able to jump on stage and experience that. Tell me, is there a lesson that you would just put out from your time in the choir, your time as a choir teacher? What would you say to anyone who thinks, oh, I don't know, should I audition? What should I do?
Speaker 4:Gosh, I'm a really shy person, believe it or not. As I'm sitting here talking, you're off the bed. I would just say to never not believe in yourself, do things, go out there and experience things that you didn't ever think you could do, because I never would have thought in my even in college or my high school years that I would do this, you know. I'm so grateful that I didn't give up after three times auditioning.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, you know, if I would have given up after the first time of defeat, that could have been tragic. You know not to have this experience again, sorry for being emotional.
Speaker 3:It's beautiful to see again the impact that music can have on our lives. I imagine for you as a teacher then taking those experiences back into your classroom. I'm seeing you get emotional. I'm seeing you light up when you share these memories. I can only imagine how your students must feel when you bring that back to them as well.
Speaker 4:I hope so. They know I'm a big baby. They just oh Rude, there she goes again. They know that I'm very passionate about what I do. They know that I love them and we get to share something really special with music and our community. I think and right now I'm in the middle of a Christmas season where we go out and take our show to rest homes and to nursing facilities and the hospitals and places that people don't. They don't get to get out and come to the concerts or come to the auditorium at the school.
Speaker 4:I've used music as a way to reach those people and I really tell my kids, music is a light. Music is that light that can help people out of those dark places that I talked about before. And they're catching on. We just finished a concert at the Midville Senior Center and just to watch how those teenagers connect with the elderly it's very cool. And for the older folk to realize that teenagers are really cool and teenagers can relate to them if they'll let them and if they'll listen to them. It's beautiful. I love taking pictures of them talking to each other.
Speaker 3:Again, it's that it takes one little thing to connect us all, and especially this time of year, I can imagine that it's just a magical experience.
Speaker 4:So fun. It's my favorite part of the year.
Speaker 3:Is there anything else you want people to know or that you'd like to add?
Speaker 4:I'm just grateful to be a teacher. I just really am. I'm glad I didn't think there was anything else I could do or wanted to do. It's just always been part of me and I'm just really grateful. So thank you for having me today.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for joining us. It sounds like you are passionate about what you do and you can see that that passion then is transferred to your students and everything that they do, and hopefully they see that, like you, if you don't give up, you can achieve your dreams Absolutely Well, thank you for listening to Connect Canyons. If there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed on the podcast, you can send us an email to communications at canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect Canyons. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at canyonsdistrict, or on our website, canyonsdistrictorg.