Growing the Roots of a Choral Tradition at Montbello High School

“It means the world to me and my students to be supported in this way.”

Those words came from the choir teacher at Montbello High School after receiving a Kantorei Elevate Classroom Grant—and they capture something at the heart of why this program exists.

A grant can purchase music. It can pay for an accompanist. It can cover registration for a festival.

But what it can give a teacher and their students goes much deeper: the resources, opportunities, and recognition they need to believe that their program—and their voices—matter.

Rebuilding a School, Rebuilding a Tradition

Montbello High School reopened its doors in 2022 after a decade-long closure.

Before its closure, Montbello was a source of pride for its neighborhood. But concerns about low test scores and a high dropout rate ultimately led Denver Public Schools to close the school. Years later, changing political winds and persistent calls from the community led the school board to vote to reopen Montbello.

The reopening was celebrated throughout the community. But a decade is a long time, and rebuilding a school takes time.

That includes rebuilding its arts programs.

For many Montbello students, walking into the choir or band room is their first experience with formal music education. They are learning how to sing in high school without the benefit of having older students around to show them the way.

And when a program is just beginning, even building a stable roster can be a challenge.

During the choir program's first years, students came and went continually. Between the first and second year, not a single student remained in the choral program.

But the program kept going.

Today, Montbello has an honors choir of 20 dedicated students—students who are beginning to lay the foundation for what their teacher hopes will become a long and fruitful tradition of choral singing at the school.

Giving Students a Voice in What They Sing

The Elevate Classroom Grant is helping that tradition take root.

One of the most important ways the grant supported Montbello's honors choir was by providing funding for new choral music.

Until now, the teacher has relied heavily on a personal library of music. While that has allowed the program to continue, it has also meant that students have had fewer opportunities to influence the repertoire they sing.

The grant changed that.

“The sense of ownership and pride that students feel when they discover a new song is a wonderful experience for me as a teacher,” the teacher shared. “And now I have the ability to put that song in their hands.”

That matters because singing is personal.

A choir director has the responsibility of shaping a thoughtful and meaningful concert program. But a healthy choir also makes room for the interests, ideas, and voices of its singers.

When a student discovers a piece of music they love and gets to see that music become part of their choir's repertoire, they learn something beyond the notes on the page:

Their voice matters. Their ideas matter. They belong here.

Letting the Teacher Teach—and the Choir Sing

The grant also made it possible for Montbello to hire an accompanist for its spring concert.

Until now, limited funding has meant that the choir's teacher has had to accompany the students while also directing them.

As the teacher puts it, that has meant conducting with “nods of the head, the occasional raised eyebrow, and the always reassuring gaze.”

It may work, but it isn't ideal.

For beginning choirs especially, students benefit when their director can stand in front of them, fully engaged in conducting, encouraging, and bringing their best performance forward.

With an accompanist, the teacher can finally do just that.

The grant isn't simply paying for a pianist. It's giving a teacher the ability to teach—and giving students the opportunity to perform with the full attention and leadership they deserve.

Taking Their Voices Beyond the Classroom

The grant also opened the door to something Montbello students haven't previously been able to access: vocal festivals.

For young singers, adjudicated festivals can be transformative. They provide an opportunity to perform for experienced judges, receive feedback, challenge themselves, and discover what they are capable of.

They also create the kind of healthy, high-stakes experience that encourages students to pay attention to the details of their performance and grow in confidence.

But registration fees have been a barrier for Montbello.

With Elevate Classroom Grant funding, that barrier was removed.

For those 20 students, that meant a chance to step outside their classroom, share their music with others, and begin to see themselves as part of a larger choral community.

Sometimes the Most Important Gift Is Being Seen

Montbello's story illustrates something important about the Elevate Classroom Grant.

The impact of funding isn't always something you can measure in the number of octavos purchased or festival registrations covered.

Sometimes, the most powerful impact is recognition.

As the Montbello teacher explained:

“When students know that they are joining an artistic community—one that encourages and supports their growth—the result is an increased motivation and sense of purpose.”

For students who are helping rebuild a program from the ground up, knowing that someone outside their school believes in what they are doing can be powerful.

It says that their musical journey is worth nurturing.

That their artistic potential is worth investing in.

That their choir is worth supporting.

And that the tradition they are building at Montbello matters.

Helping Young Voices Take Root

The Elevate Classroom Grant was created to support Colorado's middle and high school choral programs as they work to make choral music more accessible, inclusive, and transformative for their students.

At Montbello High School, that means helping 20 young singers—and the students who will follow them—build something that didn't exist just a few years ago.

A choir.

A community.

A tradition.

And perhaps, someday, a lifelong love of singing.

This is what it means to elevate a classroom.