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student wil trust a teacher who wholly commits himself to the work.
Amon Eady is completing his ninth year working in the White Station community in Memphis, Tenn. He has tirelessly dedicated that time to building two exemplary choir programs, one at the middle school level and one at the high school level. From 2005-10 he served as the director of choirs at White Station Middle School, growing the program to 300 students and performing at the Tennessee Music Educators Association Convention in April of 2008. Since arriving at White Station High School in 2010, he has doubled the choir program in size, while conducting performances by the White Station High School Chorale at the TMEA state convention and the WSHS Men’s Choir at the American Choral Director’s Association Southern Division Convention in Jacksonville, Fla. in March of this year. He has appeared at state, regional and national conventions of the American Choral Director’s Association as a performer, presenter and conductor. He serves the Shelby County School system as a mentor to other music educators in teaching musical literacy. This fall, he will begin work in the Ph.D. program at Florida State University. Eady credits his time at Southern Miss as the opportunity that most shaped his future as a music educator. “After studying with my father, who is also a lifelong music educator, I came to college as a trumpet player and instrumental music education major. Few are as fortunate as I was to live with and learn from someone like that, and then to continue that education with the likes of Dr. Thomas Fraschillo, Dr. Steven Moser, Dr. Gary Adam, Dr. Jay Dean, Mr. Allan Cox, Dr. Joel Treybig and Dr. Mohamad Schuman.” It was Dr. Greg Fuller’s arrival in 2000 that brought symmetry to Eady’s experience at Southern Miss. As he made his way through the graduate conducting program, he began to realistically consider what might be possible for him as a future music educator and as a conductor. “Of all the many things I learned in my time with Dr. Fuller, I would say the most important one is this: that a student will trust a teacher who wholly commits himself to the work. That means commitment in regard to the music, the time and the people. And when that trust is present, anything is possible. I have experienced this to be true so many times in my brief career, and I cannot put into words how grateful I am to have witnessed such an example of unwavering devotion to this craft. He and Dr. John Flanery continue to inspire me and impact my life to this day. “My years at Southern Miss were filled with one artistically wonderful experience after another, and it is amazing to see that continue. I am fortunate to have a front row seat, as several of my very own students have chosen to pursue the arts at my alma mater. What a privilege to still be a part of it!”