CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Music has been at the centre of Kacie Callahan’s life since she was a young girl.
She knows just what kinds of creative and professional opportunities a life in music can afford a young person.
And, for the last three years, she’s been using her position as an educator to share that gift with young people in the Corner Brook area.
Callahan, 30, was recently recognized for her efforts as one of six nominees on the long list for MusicNL’s Music Educator of the Year award.
The Grand Falls-Windsor native, now living in Corner Brook, started out as a children’s music entertainer when she was just four years old.
As she got older, she realized she also wanted to be a teacher.
Since she started teaching junior kindergarten at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Corner Brook three years ago, she’s been able to combine both passions.
Her role facilitating music at the school developed after she introduced a character, Ms. Blue, during one of her classes.
Callahan introduced Ms. Blue to entertain her young students, a character she created by gluing eyes on a blue guitar.
“I decided I had to implement music into my classrooms because there is no greater love for children,” she told The Western Star.
She started bringing Ms. Blue to school for classroom singalongs and found the students adored the character.
“All of a sudden I started to notice that children were incredibly receptive to this character,” she said. “Even now, I still have children who walk down the hallway when I have my blue guitar and they’ll talk to the guitar instead of me or hug the guitar.”
After she completed her first year of teaching, she opened a studio where she teaches an early learners program with children between two to three years old. She also teaches ukulele, guitar and voice.
They learn pop and rock music from the 50s and 60s up to today. Many of the youth, she noted, have shown interests in country, jazz and blues as well.
“I allow them to explore any and all avenues of music,” she explained. “It’s important to ensure children are allowed to partake in whichever genres they choose.”
Ms. Blue frequently travels with her to different children shows and festivals.
Callahan, now working as a coordinator at the school, says music influenced her life in a positive way at a young age and she wants to share the same opportunities with children today.
“I just love children and music and I know how inspired I was and the different points in my life that I don’t know if I would have went the same route had I not been involved in music in some form,” she said. “So, I kind of wanted to give that opportunity and perspective to children as well.”
She was grateful to be nominated for the MusicNL Music Educator of the Year award, even if she didn't make the short list of nominees later chosen from an original, longer list.
“Just to know all of the work I put into inspiring and assisting children in creating music — I have children now who write their own songs and they’re only six or seven — just to know my efforts have been acknowledged, it just makes me all fuzzy,” she said. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work and it’s just nice to know you’re appreciated.”
