Margaret Payne has spent the last two decades of her life helping Oxford students hit those high notes.
‘I’m one of those fortunate people that actually gets to do something they totally love,? she said. ‘I get to make music every day.?
After 21? years in the school district, Payne is currently on her farewell tour as choir director for the middle and high schools.
‘Retiring was a difficult decision,? she said. ‘I will dearly miss the kids.?
Payne’s final high school choir concert is May 24 and her last middle school concert is June 5.
‘My last performance is Payne took ment (on June 10), she said. ‘Commencement’s always difficult ? the kids always laugh at me because I cry ? but this one will probably be the hardest.?
‘Watching those students turn the tassel? fills Payne with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride.
‘I feel like I’ve done my job,? she said.
Digits or D-minor?
Looking back over her happy career, it’s hard to believe Payne originally set out to be a math teacher.
It wasn’t that she preferred numbers to notes, it’s just she considered music to be more a part of who she was than a career path.
‘Music was just always there for me,? Payne explained. ‘Music has always been something that I did. I never thought I would really teach. Music was just me.?
From taking ballet lessons when she was 3 years old to singing in church choirs to teaching private piano lessons at age 15, her appetite and passion for music was never satiated.
Even though she ‘absolutely adore(s)? math, Payne said she ‘kept coming back to music? and eventually decided to teach it in the public schools.
Love those kids
Words cannot begin to describe what a personally fulfilling decision it was for Payne to become a teacher. Not just because music was so ingrained in her, but because how much she genuinely loves her students.
‘We’re told as teachers that these aren’t really our kids,? she said. ‘But they really are my kids. It will be hard turning them over to somebody else.?
Payne has thoroughly enjoyed watching her students ‘blossom? and ‘mature? both musically and personally as they grow from awkward seventh-graders to confident high school seniors.
‘I’m absolutely thrilled that they have allowed me to be part of their lives,? she said. ‘I’m lucky their parents allow me to have that role in their lives.?
Payne said she’s always tried to be there for her students. Some she inspired to go into a music. Some she motivated to pursue math. And a few credit her with saving their lives, although she wasn’t aware of it at the time.
‘I just hope that I helped make their high school lives and their whole lives be better in some way just by being there listening or telling them to focus,? Payne said.
Making students ‘feel safe? in her classroom was always a top priority for Payne.
‘I want them to be able to express their feelings,? she said. ‘In order to sing correctly and to sing with feeling, you have to have that feeling of safeness.?
Bursting with pride
Like a proud parent, Payne can’t help it when it comes to boasting about her kids.
She noted that since she began directing the middle school choirs in 1990, they have received first division ratings at the District Chorale Festival ‘every single year.?
‘They have also received a perfect score in sight reading almost every single time,? Payne added.
Sight reading is the ability to pick up a piece of music and sing it without hearing it or seeing it beforehand.
The high school’s varsity choir also ‘consistently gets first division ratings? at the District Chorale Festival.
This year 19 out of 21 students received first division ratings at District Solo and Ensemble Festival. The two who received second division ratings were only one point away, quite an accomplishments considering neither of them had ever performed a solo before, Payne explained.
‘I’m just really proud of all of our students accomplishments,? she said.
Payne’s also extremely proud of the choir students? behavior and maturity level during their trips to places like Mackinac and New York.
‘They have never, ever disappointed me,? she said. ‘We consistently get notes back from the superintendent about how well behaved our students are, how well they performed.?
Payne will never forget the first time her high school choir sang at St. John’s Cathedral in New York City.
‘They hit the first chord at the end of their first phrase and their faces were just like, ‘oh my!?? she explained. ‘The sound was just so glorious.?
She’ll also always remember the looks on her high school choir students? faces when they performed in March at a veterans home in New York City.
As they sang for the veterans and talked with them after the performance, Payne saw history come alive in her students? faces as they began to understand ‘what these people went through and what they meant to the rest of the country.?
‘It was just wonderful,? she said.
Learning is a two-way street
Even though she’s the teacher, Payne said she’s learned a great deal from her students.
‘I think I’m the one that’s been so enriched,? she said.
During her two decades in the classroom, Payne said she’s learned patience, openness to new ideas and new ways of doing things, and how to be a better person.
‘I’ve learned more about being a good person,? she said.
At last, a true stage
Payne does wish to express her appreciation to the community for approving the bond issue which allowed the school district to build an 800-seat professional-style Performing Arts Center (PAC) at the high school in 2004.
‘I am very grateful to this community for this building right here,? she said. ‘It’s been just invaluable to the students. It’s in use every single day, lots of times four or five times a day.?
Payne took on the role of theater manager for the PAC to ‘make sure it was set up right.?
‘I’ve waited so long for a stage and for this beautiful place,? she said. ‘I wanted it to be the very best it could be for the students.?
The PAC has made quite a difference in the high school musicals, which Payne has directed since 1995.
The difference between her first and last musical, The Wizard of Oz, was night and day.
Unlike the old OHS stage, which was basically a ‘platform,? Payne said the PAC allowed the addition of flying effects for the witch and monkeys along with pyrotechnics supplied by her son.
‘I have absolutely loved doing the musicals,? she said.
She’ll still be around
During her retirement, Payne plans to spend time with her husband of 33? years, George, who’s retiring in June, do some traveling and go to her grandchildren’s band concerts in Davison.
But she still plans to make herself available to students, even at her home in Oxford.
‘I told my juniors and sophomores I would give them private lessons,? Payne said. ‘They all know where I live and they all have my phone number. If they need something, they know I’ll be there.?