Teacher of the Day: Sarah O'Halloran

Today's teacher is Sarah O'Halloran. This is Sarah's second year teaching at SEP.

Sarah teaches "Music, Sound, and Moving Image" and "Music and Creativity," both for the 9-11 camp. 

What are your classes like? Can you describe them for us?

In "Music, Sound, and Moving Image," we learn about people who compose for movies, TV shows, video games, and other media. We discuss what they know and how they apply that knowledge – making our own sound design. Some activities in the class include making our own ringtones, creating sound design for the "Family Guy" chicken fight, and designing our own monsters and giving them voices. We also do some movie music mash ups to see how music can completely change the understanding of a scene.

In "Music and Creativity," we try to understand what creativity is and how it is applied in music. We study different styles of creativity and different people, looking at how creativity is influenced by other artists, education, environment, and personality. 

What's something about you someone might not expect if they didn't know you well?

I'm pretty good at computer programming. People don't usually associate that with music.

What made you want to come back to SEP?

The kids. They're so interested and interesting themselves. It's really energizing.

What's one of your favorite memories from past years?

I've had some groups that really tried to make assignments funny and did a great job with them. I was teaching poly-rhythms, which can be really hard, and one group tried to use funny words in their composition and dared each other not to laugh. 

What do you think is the most difficult part of the job?

Occasionally you get a student who doesn't really want to be there, and you have to figure out how to include them in the activities.

What do you think is the most rewarding part of the job?

Kids make progress so quickly, and most seem to really enjoy what they're doing. Seeing them achieve and have fun is important to me 

What do you know about gifted education?

I previously taught at high schools in Ireland and they don't have it there. These kids at SEP are easy to teach because of their high level of interest. Teaching in this gifted environment hasn't been that different, it's just that that standard is very consistent.

Given infinite supplies and opportunities, what sort of class would you teach?

I would teach some kind of composition class with access to full studios and controllers to experiment with advanced equipment. I would also like to collaborate with other media.

What's your biggest pet peeve?

People with bad manners.