Central’s long-tenured still going strong Reign of Choir

Vocal Music Director

SSingers come and singers go, but at Pickerington High School Central, the man in front of the singers is an institution.

John Long, director of vocal music at Central, has been conducting student singers in Pickerington for 38 years and is still very much enjoying his work.

In addition to serving as vocal music director, Long is chairman of Central’s music department. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in Pickerington. They have four children, all grown, and two grandchildren.

Long grew up in Columbus, graduating from Eastmoor High School under choir director William Griffin, who in- spired him to go into vocal music. He attended Capital University as an undergraduate, then earned his master’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University.

When he started out teaching in Pickerington in the early 1970s, Long oversaw vocal music for all students grades six and up. After that, he directed all of the district’s high school students until Pickerington High School North opened in 2003.

Now, Long oversees Central’s four choral groups: the symphonic choir, the freshman and sophomore choir, the chorale, and the men’s group.

In his time at Central, Long has sent a multitude of students to state and national competitions, as well as the Ohio Music Education Association All State Choir, the Singing Buckeyes Harmony Camp and the All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir. He has served on the advisory board of the latter and received a Distinguished Service Award for it in 2011.

He has seen multiple generations of students come through his music program, their interests piqued by chorale performances at elementary schools – or their parents’ own experiences in choir.

Long credits his lengthy tenure in Pickerington to the city’s growth, starting out very rural and eventually evolving into the community we know today.

Enthusiastic students and supportive parents made the decision to stay even easier.

“Whenever I even thought, ‘Maybe it’s time to move on,’ Pickerington kind of changed,” he says.

But he has never considered giving up his career of choice, even after retirement became an option.

“I had somebody ask me a year or two ago (at a choir concert), ‘Why don’t you retire?’ because most teachers can retire at 30 or 35 years,” Long says. “After the show, I went up to the person, pointed right to my chorale and said, ‘That’s the reason I still do what I do.’”

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Long’s longtime commitment to music and education is being recognized this year, as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra has announced him the winner of its 2012 Music Educator Award for secondary education. Three awards are given each year – elementary, secondary and community education – to music teachers who are dedicated to music and help promote greater understanding of music education.

Long will receive the award at a brunch April 1 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Columbus, and will then be recognized in a presentation prior to a performance by the symphony at the Southern Theatre. He will also receive a $2,500 grant to be spent at his discretion on a wide variety of music education endeavors; past recipients have spent the money on things such as guest instructors, computer software and instrument repair.

Though grateful for the award, Long insists he cannot take all the credit for it.

“I couldn’t do this just by myself,” he says. “I have great kids, supportive parents and a supportive administration.”

In addition to his work with student choirs, Long has, for the past 33 years, served as music director for the Colum- bus Swiss Singers’ Helvetia Maennerchor and Edelweiss Damenchor. The group sings in six different languages, and Long often organizes events that let his high school students bond with the Swiss Singers, for whom the average age is 75. Such collaborations are always very popular for the students.

“The kids are always wanting me to yodel for them,” says Long.

He also coached cross country and track in Pickerington for 30 years.

With almost 40 years of experience teaching music and a lifetime of music appreciation, Long has an expansive list of favorite songs, but his No. 1 choice is The Awakening by Joseph M. Martin. The song tells the story of a man who dreams of a world with no music; in the end, he awakens and realizes it is important to let music live.

“It concerns me when I hear about so many schools … eliminating their traditional music programs,” says Long. “With music, you can get right to the heart and the soul of a young person.”

Garth Bishop is editor of Pickerington Magazine. Feedback welcome at gbishop@pubgroupltd.com.

2012-2013 TRYOUTS

May 26th-June 16th Boys & Girls U9-U14 & High School (U15-U18)

(see dates below)

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Tryout Dates

By Brenda Layman