Alex Hitrick began teaching at Broadalbin-Perth Jr./Sr. High School, during the attempt to return to normalcy post-COVID in September 2020. The enrollment numbers were pretty dismal. “I had about 20 students in middle school chorus and 12 in high school, and my first concert was edited on a computer,” he says.
Today, the middle school chorus has almost tripled to 56 singers, and the high school stands at 70. “I like to believe the numbers rose because I was able to bring a fresh approach to how music can be explored, and the students ran with it,” Hitrick says.
His fresh approach included adding courses like Songwriting & Production, AP Music Theory and a new piano lab. He also started a cover band club called “From the Top,” and students perform with live equipment at real venues.
Hitrick also started an Advanced Choir ensemble for “students who wanted a little more — more whos, whats, whens, wheres and, of course, whys,” he explains. “As we began to increase the difficulty of repertoire performed, their knowledge of music needed to expand, and they wanted to go all in.”
In addition to performing the music, the class analyzes the time the songs were written, why they were written, and students use a variety of theory skills and techniques to better understand how it all works.
Every March, Broadalbin-Perth hosts a PRISM Concert for Music in Our Schools Month that features all the performing ensembles in the district, grades 4 through 12. The concert follows a theme, and every group chooses a song or piece to perform. “At the end, we come together to perform a final song as one giant ensemble,” Hitrick says proudly. “Each year, we raise money for a community member, family or organization in need based on events of that year.”
An exciting and unique performance opportunity was when Hitrick’s students entered a contest for a chance to sing “I Want to Know What Love Is” with the legendary rock band Foreigner at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “As a class, we arranged the harmonies of the song then submitted a video of us performing the song,” he says. “It was an electric moment seeing them sing their hearts out on stage with Foreigner!”
Hitrick is the first to acknowledge that the success of the Broadalbin-Perth Jr./Sr. High School music program is not a lone effort. The administration supports the arts, and “I am fortunate to have great colleagues,” he says. “We bounce ideas off of each other, inspire each other and are on the same page together. We know that our main goal is to give these students the greatest opportunities in music possible, but we are also there to help our students be the best humans possible.”
