Natalia Sigmund’s love of music and teaching has shaped one of the best elementary choruses in New Jersey
As a child in her native Russia, Natalia Sigmund remembers her disdain for the smacks on the hand she received from her piano teacher, a consequence she was met with at every wrong note.
In her tenure as the music teacher at Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, Sigmund has worked hard to instill discipline in her students with an entirely different approach. Taking a page from the book of Edwin Gordon’s music learning theory, Sigmund and her competitive after-school Music Makers chorus have become a force to be reckoned with.
“I could play much better when I was on my own and wasn’t being threatened,” Sigmund joked. “This program looks at music as parallel to language — we look at music as a communication tool, music can communicate things differently. This is really my passion, making music with children and making it come alive, communicating. When it gets to that level, it really becomes magical.”
Starting with just 12 students nearly 10 years ago, Music Makers has grown so much that students are now required to audition. Over time, the chorus, which this year is 65 members strong, has earned its place in the top-nine best elementary singing groups in nine New Jersey counties.
So, when the radio station 101.1 More FM Philadelphia decided to add a K-6 division to its Christmas Choir Competition in 2010, Sigmund’s supervisor knew the Music Makers would be a shoo-in.
“We sent in [our audition], and we got into semi-finals, and then we won the finals,” Sigmund recalled. “We went on a tour that year, singing with Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops at the Kimmel Center and at the New Jersey State House for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We sang at a university, at Phillies games — we were just on the road all year long.”
Music Makers has entered the competition every year since. This year, the team placed second, and while the title would be a proud accomplishment for many fifth graders, Sigmund’s ambitious group — though grateful for the opportunity to sing on the radio with their peers — is nursing their wounds a little.
“I was really excited because I had never been on the radio before, and I found out that we could meet celebrities if we won. When we lost, I was so disappointed,” Music Makers member Molly Park said. “But I’m glad we got to do it, and we had a really good time.”
Sigmund and her group, however, are taking the perceived “loss” in stride. While winning is important to Sigmund, her enthusiasm for teaching and music allow her to rebound. Though difficult to manage at times, she said, using her skills to develop an exceptional team of talented singers every year is rewarding and exciting.
“The most important thing is to hear in music learning. I sing to them, and they listen. Not all children know how to use their singing voices because it’s not a big part of our culture,” she explained. “My students in Music Makers, they know how to use it, and they absorb what they hear like sponges. The process is very organic.”
As for the students, who are focused on their upcoming winter concert, the quality of Sigmund’s program is not lost on them. Masoud Gannt, another Music Maker, echoed his peers’ sentiments in saying he was glad to even be able to sing on the radio.
“I’m just happy that I get to sing with a bunch of people with wonderful voices. We have a good team,” he added.
