Teachers of Note : ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’? No, Just Real-Life Musical Dedication in O.C.

In “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” a film starring Richard Dreyfuss now playing around the county, a would-be composer discovers his calling in teaching--sharing his consuming love of music with his students.

Between Proposition 13 and the bankruptcy, does Orange County even have any music teachers left? Can there possibly be any Mr. or Ms. Hollands in our midst?

Definitely, says Cathy Kadison, vice president of youth programs for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, which probably has a better finger than anyone on the pulse of music education countywide: The organization has supplemented public school music curricula with its programs for almost 40 years and now reaches a quarter-million children annually.

“Some band and choral teachers have been very inspiring,” Kadison says of the schools’ own staffers. “They come into a district; they increase the size and quality of a program significantly, and it becomes the cool thing to get into.”

As for their impact, she said, “We all learn things differently. Fine arts can reach people not attracted by the rest of the educational process. Once you reach a kid one way, once he or she gets interested and sees value, it can have a ripple effect across the spectrum.”

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When David Norman’s position as music coordinator for the Santa Ana Unified School District was cut, he took a teaching post at the district’s Sierra Intermediate School.

No longer in charge of curriculum and hiring, he now teaches six periods of choir--and coaches boys’ sports. And what a combo that has turned out to be.

Of 300 students signed up for choir, 140 are boys. “That’s rare,” says Norman, 55. “Usually it’s a lot more girls than boys, particularly in junior high.

“But I coach football, soccer and track. Boys who at 13 or 14 might feel it’s not masculine to be a singer don’t have a problem--they’re out there playing football with me. Our fall ’94 football team was junior varsity city champion.”

Norman grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana and attended a one-room schoolhouse. He began violin lessons at 5 and earned his master’s degree and doctorate from USC in choral music.

His junior high vocal groups work on Renaissance Latin mass movements as well as arrangements of popular songs. He says his classes have had an impact.

“Several years ago we were doing part of [Karl Orff’s] ‘Carmina Burana.’ And the Orange County Master Chorale was also doing it, with the Long Beach Symphony. I called and asked if we could bring the kids up to hear a rehearsal.

“They gave the kids a backstage tour. We met the director. The kids felt like they were treated like kings. One boy had been an average student, but from that day on, from that exact moment, he was on fire. He became one of our top students.”

Has Norman heard about “Mr. Holland’s Opus?”

“We’re very excited to see it,” he says. “My wife said to me, ‘Hey, that’s just what you’re doing!’ Well, I don’t know about that. . . .”

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Claire Purcell is on special assignment as the program facilitator in the Garden Grove Unified School District’s fine arts department, rewriting the elementary music curriculum and lesson plans to comply with national and state guidelines.

But her favorite half of the week is spent at her regular job (which she considers a really special assignment): teaching vocal music to grades one through six at George S. Patton Elementary School.

She also assists at all junior high and high school fine arts festivals in the district, is a member of the Garden Grove Philharmonic Committee and was a recipient of the I Make a Difference award from the Garden Grove Education Assn. and the PTA’s very special person award.

Purcell, 44, has been with the district 10 years. When she came on board, there were 40 children in the the school chorus. Now there are 160 and a waiting list.

“I think my love of music became a little bit contagious,” she says.

She takes many approaches to teaching music:

“They read about it; they watch programs about it; they sing, and they’re not afraid to sing solo. Everybody’s supportive. We learn about the instruments; we learn about the cultures, especially those represented in our classroom--Japanese, Mexican, African American, Korean, Filipinos, Vietnamese, kids from India. . . . I hope I’m not leaving anybody out!”

In her classroom, “there are no chairs, because we might spontaneously decide to add a dance movement or bring out the instruments. We sit cross-legged. One of the most exciting things for me is when they get up on their knees and move toward me, their eyes all lit up, when I ask questions about what they learn, and they can’t wait to answer. . . . I get excited because they’re so excited.”

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Peter Fournier taught in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District for 13 years until, he recalls, “they cut out music programs to save money and use it where they felt it was important.”

Fournier, 53, is now in his 13th year with the Irvine Unified School District. When he started there, he inherited an orchestra at University High School with 24 students in it. Today, he directs a 122-member symphony orchestra and a 103-member string orchestra from which is drawn a chamber orchestra and smaller ensembles including string quartets.

“To have this many strings players involved is amazing,” he says. “It’s the largest string orchestra in the county, among the top five in the state.

“Universities from all over the state actively recruit these students. The recruiters tell me we have the best ‘college’ orchestra in Southern California, that’s their words, and they all say the same thing. It’s remarkable the talent that’s here.”

Fifteen of Fournier’s students recently were accepted into the All-State Orchestra (it’s the third consecutive year that University High has sent the most students of any school), and 17 were selected for the all-Southern California High School Honor Orchestra. Fournier also oversees a large high school marching band, a jazz ensemble and a wind ensemble.

And that’s not all.

He is associate conductor of the Irvine Youth Symphony, which has grown into ensembles representing four achievement levels. Players come from all over Southern California.

Did we mention that Fournier plays trombone in a church ensemble, in two big bands and in the Capistrano Valley Symphony, and is principal trombonist for the Santa Ana Symphony?

He has heard about “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and is anxious to see it.

“It sounds similar, yes,” he allows. “I’m an active professional trombonist, but my first love has always been teaching. I went into teaching to inspire children to be enthralled with music making, the way I’ve been all my life.”