Greetings CMS Choir supporters! My name is Kathryn Bennett. I am pleased to be starting my first year here at Centennial Middle School. Not only is it my first year in the district, but I have the privilege of saying that I began my teaching career in the Centennial School District. I grew up in Waseca, MN. From there, I traveled about 40 miles west to St. Peter, MN to attend Gustavus Adolphus College. I completed my student teaching at Pioneer Ridge Middle School in Chaska, MN and Chanhassen High School in Chanhassen, MN. I received my B.A. in Music Education in 2010 from Gustavus. I am very excited to begin my career at Centennial Middle School. I will be teaching 2 sections of 8th grade choir, 4 sections of 7th grade choir, and 4 sections of 6th grade choir. Aside from teaching, my hobbies include concert-going, watching movies, enjoying nature, rollerblading (even though I am quite bad at it), cooking, and loving newlywed bliss with my husband, Conor. I am looking forward to a fun-filled and music filled school year!
This will be my 18th
year teaching in the Centennial District.
I am excited to have the opportunity to teach two sections of 8th
grade choir in addition to my continuing duties as Centennial Elementary Music
Specialist. I received my bachelor’s degree
in music education from the University of Illinois, and have taken graduate
courses in the Kodaly and Orff methods as well as choral conducting at the
University of St. Thomas. Choral music
is a great passion of mine. That is why
I organized the Centennial Elementary choir and have hosted the Centennial
District Elementary Music Festival for the past 7 years. It has
been my privilege to sing with two professional choirs, the Dale Warland
Singers for 10 years, and, currently, The Singers, Minnesota Choral Artists,
where I serve as soprano section leader.
I made eight CDs with the Dale Warland Singers and have made three CDs
with The Singers. I have also done
commercial recording work for Morningstar Publishing and voice-over work for television
and radio commercials. For the past two
summers I have spent a week in Winona, MN, participating in the Minnesota
Beethoven Festival Chorale, conducted by Dale Warland. Continuing to study voice is important to me,
so I take weekly voice lessons from Teresa Tierney. Other hobbies include playing tennis, biking,
playing piano and reading. I live in
White Bear Lake with my husband, Jay, two college-age daughters, Katie and
Kristin, and our new golden-doodle puppy, Lucy.
I am looking forward to getting to know my 8th grade students
and parents, making beautiful music, and having fun this year!