BAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 20, 2017
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
McNary alum directing at Claggett Creek
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Rita Brown learned to
play the violin as a student at
Kennedy, Whiteaker and then
McNary.
After 14 years at Houck
Middle School in Salem,
Brown has returned to Keiz-
er to become the orchestra
director at Claggett Creek
Middle School.
“It was a chance to get
into another area but also a
chance to give back,” Brown
said of returning to Keizer.
“This is my roots. The com-
munity as changed quite a bit
so it’s neat to see that change,
too.”
Wanting to be like her
older sister, Brown began
taking violin lessons when
she was 7 years old.
“I wanted to be like her
and then I wanted to be bet-
ter than her,” Brown said.
At 10, Brown already
knew what she wanted to do
with her life—direct.
“I don’t know that I’ve re-
ally thought about it,” Brown
said. “I just knew my path.”
That path included get-
ting her bachelor’s and mas-
ter’s degrees at the University
of Puget Sound in Tacoma,
KEIZERTIMES/Delek Wiley
Rita Blown, who glew up in Keizel, is the new olchestla dilectol at Claggett Cleek Middle
School, leplacing Bluce Buldy.
Wash.
After a year directing in
Tacoma, Brown started out at
Houck teaching elementary
students before becoming the
full-time director.
She was able to grow the
fourth grade orchestra from
eight to 10 students to 25-40.
At Claggett, she teaches
students from three of the
feeder elementary schools,
Last chance
Kennedy, Cummings and
Weddle, as well as sixth, sev-
enth and eighth graders at
CCMS.
“It’s a lot bigger than when
I was a kid,” Brown said. “It’s
really neat. When I was in
fourth grade, we had maybe
eight or nine kids. They were
very, very small”
Brown has 80 kids in her
fourth grade orchestra, al-
most 60 fi fth graders and 73
at CCMS.
Brown likes elementary
and middle school students
because they remind her of
herself.
“They’re super quirky and
so am I,” Brown said.
She also likes to be a part
of their progress.
“You start them on that
path and you see them take
hold of it,” Brown said. “You
essentially see them turn
into musicians in the course
of four to fi ve years you’re
working with them because
at fi rst they’re just learning
and modeling. By year four
or fi ve, you see them start
to synthesize that. You send
them off and hear about all
the great things they do. It’s
really fun to watch that and
help them mold that.”
Brown is a quirky but also
serious teacher.
“I want them to enjoy it
but I also want them to take
ownership in what they’re
learning,” she said. “I try to
paint the picture for them
of what it looks like to be at
a certain level and I use the
word excellence a lot and
they’re probably getting tired
of hearing that. But I try to
picture paint that so they
have something that they can
aim for.”
Brown looks forward to
working with CCMS band
director Danny Hunt and
choir director Sandra Krause.
“That’s one of the neat
things about the music and
arts program in Keizer, it’s
pretty dynamic,” Brown said.
“It would be nice to see
Claggett mirror that, which
I think they do already but
it would be nice to see it as
a tripod. I’d like to see, es-
pecially at Claggett, our de-
partment become really in-
volved.”
Brown replaces Bruce
Purdy, who was at CCMS
since it opened.
Brown has a 3-year-old
daughter.
“We’re going to start her
on violin and see if she likes
it,” Brown said. “We just sized
her last week. She might be
something else entirely. It’s
up to her. We’re just going to
start her and let her choose.”
BREAKING
NEWS
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Find out
more at…
WVP is pleased to
WELCOME
Jennifer L. Lee, ANP-C
KEIZERTIMES/Delek Wiley
Holly Beaman (Daisy) and Dennis Fishel (Bogie) dance and sing duling Keizel Homeglown
Theatle’s plesentation of Dog Balk, The Musical. The show ends Fliday, Oct. 20 and
Satulday, Oct. 21 in the Chemeketa Community College Auditolium, located in Building 6.
Tickets ale $15 and available at the dool ol online at Blown Bapel Tickets at http://www.
blownpapeltickets.com/event/3091639.
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