Connect Canyons
Learning is about making connections, and we invite you to learn and connect with us. Connect Canyons is a show about what we teach in Canyons District, how we teach, and why. We get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great: students, teachers, principals, parents, and more. We meet national experts, too. And we spotlight the “connection makers” — personalities, programs and prospects — we find compelling and inspiring.
Connect Canyons
Ep 124: More Than Music: Jordan High Madrigals Gain Renown on Regional, National Stages
Long before Jordan High Choir Director Jaron Putnam ever stood in front of a choir, music was already shaping who he would become.
“One of my first memories of being a human being was singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" with my family,” Putnam says. “My dad sang in a barbershop quartet growing up and so my siblings were harmonizing, and I just was surrounded by harmony from a very early age.”
That foundation — music as connection and shared purpose — is what Putnam now works to cultivate in Jordan High’s Madrigals, a group that has grown into one of the state’s most accomplished musical ensembles. Whether performing at local events and spreading holiday cheer throughout the community, or competing on prestigious stages, the Jordan Madrigals are demonstrating how music education can open doors in school, work, and life.
The ensemble has taken home top marks in the Utah high school Shakespeare Festival, and is preparing to compete at the San Diego Heritage Festival, where choirs from across the country are evaluated against national adjudication standards.
But accolades are only part of the story.
In the latest episode of Connect Canyons, Putnam is joined by Madrigal members Katie Barnes, Adam Lindsay, Evelyn Shore, John Hamm, and Titus Tyler who reflect on how being part of the choir has shaped their confidence, discipline, and a sense of belonging in the Beetdigger community. Students describe finding their voices — sometimes literally for the first time — while learning how to work as a team and master skills to develop the courage to perform under pressure.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by Canyon School District. This is a show about what we teach, how we teach, and why we get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great. Students, teachers, principals, parents, and more. We meet national experts too. Learning is about making connections. So connect with us.
SPEAKER_03:Maya Angelic once said, everything in the universe has a real. Whether you're feeling sad, you're trying to focus, or you're celebrating, music plays a major part in our lives. And when students add learning music to their education, it has an impact that can manifest in a myriad of ways. From better test results, thanks for listening to this episode and the ability to connect themselves.
SPEAKER_02:Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Welcome to Connect District. I'm your host. On our website, Canyon's District.
SPEAKER_03:Today I'm joined by Jordan High director Jaren Putnam and some of his musically talented students. Thank you all for being here.
SPEAKER_07:Having us.
SPEAKER_03:Mr. Putnam, let's start with you and then I'll have you students introduce yourselves. How did you come to be the choir director at Jordan High and what got you into musical education to begin with?
SPEAKER_06:Thanks for that question. I would say that from very, very early on, that was sort of where I was headed. One of my first memories of being a human being was singing zippity-doodah with my family. My dad sang in a barbershop quartet growing up.
SPEAKER_07:Wow.
SPEAKER_06:And so my siblings were harmonizing. I was sort of at the age where I got asked to sing the melody. And I just I was surrounded by harmony from a very early age.
SPEAKER_03:Of course. I love that.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, but it was part of my dad's with singing with the barbershop quartet is one of the tunes that we would we presented. I don't even remember where we performed it, but my mom and dad encouraged us all to take piano lessons. So we have a family full of people who can play the piano. All of us went and chose a second instrument. So I played violin in high school. I knew by the time I was a junior in high school that I wanted to do music. And music education was where I was headed. I had a really influential high school choir teacher myself. We actually got the chance to meet him last year. Many of us on our choir tour, we went to Boise, Idaho for our tour and had the chance to go to my old high school and participate there. That inspiration of a really good teacher meant a lot to me. So even from that point, I knew music was what I wanted and really just never looked back. So got my degree and was teaching. I did one year at Bear River Middle School, teaching choir and band. And then I got a job at Skyview High School, which is up north in Cache Valley, taught there for four years. This job opened up, applied for it, and was so fortunate to land this job in this amazing district at an amazing school with amazing students. And it's been an amazing couple of years. This is my third year at Jordan High.
SPEAKER_03:That's fantastic. And getting these guys started off, I mean, a multi-state tour when you're in choir. Hello.
SPEAKER_06:This year we're going to San Diego. So in the spring. Yep, we've got plans to head to San Diego in March or April. I don't know. The spring. Late March.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, let's touch on that a little bit more soon as well. I'm now gonna have Zipdy Doo Da stuck in my hand. So thanks for that. I'd love to have each of you introduce yourself. We do have two other members of the choir here that are gonna introduce themselves later because you guys might have a song ready. We might. Maybe I can convince you to sing. For those of you here at the table, would you uh tell us who you are and what got you wanting to be in choir and start out in music?
SPEAKER_04:I'm Adam Lindsay. In middle school, I started out not thinking I would do choir or anything of that sort, no performing arts. I was just gonna live. It was my COVID year of middle school, and so I had to live through that as well. And I needed a art, and my mom told me to try choir, and so I did, and I loved the director and got to perform music in a way that I really enjoyed, and I proceeded to move up my way through the choirs and eventually get to choir at Jordan and got to be with our director, Mr. Putnam, and it's just so much fun being there, and it just makes me love choir even more.
SPEAKER_09:So I'm Evelyn Shore, and growing up I didn't have a lot of experience with the choir. I did sing around the house a lot, like I made up songs, and I did piano as a kid, but that was more of a chore. So when I was in middle school, I started getting into choir, and I really liked it, but I especially liked it once I progressed into high school choir, and like I just didn't know that like music could sound this beautiful altogether, and I've been able to perform pieces that like just sound so good and they're so fun to sing and just to work on and shape, and so yeah, I really love music.
SPEAKER_01:My name is Titus Tyler, and I actually started out in choir back in sixth grade, so I was not gonna do choir, but when I got into high school, my mom was like, Oh, you should totally try it. You have a new teacher, it'll be great. And it was honestly like the best thing that I've done in high school because Mr. Putnam is amazing, and I've made so many good friends. I do soccer, and the last couple years I did basketball on top of choir. But if you like it the choir is kind of flexible, and I feel like everything just lays out perfectly. So it's like you can kind of just do everything.
SPEAKER_00:I'm Johnny Hamm, and so I started in band. I'm a big band guy. I started playing the saxophone in middle school and learned the trombone and stuck with that for high school. And I've been doing band for a long time, but then my junior year I figured, I mean, I'd I'd throw myself out there. I I mean I I like music, I like the sounds of it, so so I auditioned and I made it into the a cappella choir my junior year. And I mean, I enjoyed every every part of it. I made lots of friends, and I feel like choir is a place where you don't need the experience you need for instrument. You can just hop in and you can join those harmonies, and it's a unique experience, and I think you can meet new people easily.
SPEAKER_03:It's a team effort, right? You're not just I mean, you may have a solo here and there, or you know, some of the smaller quartets or a trio if you're you know competing, but in the end it's it's you and 20 or 30 other people just making music together.
SPEAKER_08:My name's Kate Barnes. I like when I was a really little kid, I totally remember making up songs and performing them for my family and stuff. And then when I was like 10, this like local theater, they were having auditions for Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And my family we like loved that musical. And my mom was like, Do you want to audition? They want like kids in it. And I was like, Yeah. So then me and my sister did that show, and that's kind of what got me into like performing.
SPEAKER_03:Joseph is a great place to start. I feel like a lot of people get their start with Joseph, right? Like they're either introduced to it with Donnie Marie, or that's just the go-to show. What was your have you seen that version?
SPEAKER_06:Have you seen the Donnie Osmo?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that was the one that we yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I did go a little deep on that one. I apologize. I forget what age groups were. That was my first experience with it. VHS tape conversion. Utah royalty right there. Choir's fun, right? You get those beautiful harmonies, especially I love a good, you know, minor key tight harmony for whatever reason that just sings to me. I'm getting a couple nods here, so think I'm not the only one. It expresses so much, I mean, music in and of itself is just such a unique experience. Why do you, as students, feel like taking music as part of your education is important?
SPEAKER_08:I don't know. I just think it's like it's such a unique way to like well connect with other people. And also it's just like it's so cool to like because like everyone can sing, right? But like to really like like fine-tune everything and figure out different like techniques that work for you when you're like singing and stuff. I don't know, it's just so cool. And I and like when you sing all these harmonies and stuff, like that feeling that you get of like joy and like excitement is just like something that like you can't really get anywhere else.
SPEAKER_09:Yeah, I totally agree. I feel like doing choir in high school, you just build such a good sense of community and like beyond what you get in the classroom, and also learning all the sorts of music in class, you get all this feedback and like learning that you wouldn't get outside of high school, and it really really like jump starts you to if you want to pursue it after high school, and then you have the best time with all of your friends and your teachers, and it's just a blast.
SPEAKER_04:Personally, in my high school experience so far, I've found it such a relief to no matter like the stresses that go on during high school or whatever, I can always find relief or that de-stressing in the choir room, making chords lock, just having a great time, but also just having the music to take me away from the stresses of life.
SPEAKER_03:Which I mean that's what we do in our cars, right? Or in the shower. You guys you guys make up songs at home. Do you find yourself doing uh warm-up runs when you're just around and about?
SPEAKER_09:You'll definitely catch me doing like sirens everywhere, especially before shows and concerts and things.
SPEAKER_03:Demonstrate a siren for those who don't know.
SPEAKER_09:It's just a very helpful warm-up, and I have to stop myself sometimes.
SPEAKER_03:Just in the grocery store, you randomly hear a sound. Oh yeah. Yeah. I've been there. I mean, you I love what you all are saying about that sense of community, that sense of being able to get away from some of the things that may be causing stress or you know, just taking that deep breath when you get into choir, which I mean, breathing is a big part of it.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But there's also that bigger impact, right? You're learning skills that you may not even realize yet, you're transferring to your other classes. Mr. Putnam, how are you seeing musical lessons transform in your students?
SPEAKER_06:Oh, it's a remarkable process to see. And I love starting a new year fresh, and you get, you know, the new freshmen coming in, and the choir sound is sort of unmolded and unshaped. And I think you all remember our first concerts of the year and then compare them to our last concerts of the year, you know, and how much how much growth there is. And like you said, it's it is musical skills, but it goes beyond that, doesn't it? It's those life lessons that everyone needs to learn to be successful. It's how to how to stick with something, how to have discipline, how to work well with others, how to take instruction, how to problem solve. It's all of these skills that are just gonna serve all of these students so well in their lives. And not to downplay the education side of math or science or history, but I think those skills can really shine and acquire setting, and I love that.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, they impact each other. There was a recent study by the American Psychological Association, you brought up math and science. Students who take music courses actually score significantly better on math and science exams than their non-musical peers. So it's just something that you may not see outside of the auditorium, but then you see these results and you go, oh, maybe there is a little more something to this. Do you feel as students that your time with in choir or with taking any of the arts has changed you as a student or as a person?
SPEAKER_04:Um, personally, having been in choir for a couple of years and getting a little bit more into the theater aspect, I've learned as a performing arts student that a lot of times my directors know best, and through that I can learn better from them, and I've been able to apply that to my other classes where I can ask questions of my teachers because they know the curriculum and I can learn it from them, and they can be my sort of director in those aspects of my learning.
SPEAKER_09:I feel like choir as a class in a community just brings so much passion that like you may not have in any of your other classes, but it like encourages you to try and find it in all of your other subjects, whether you like them or not, because you know how passionate you can be with certain things and how amazing it can be to learn and to grow, not just in choir.
SPEAKER_08:I think it also probably helps like what you were talking about earlier, Adam, about like taking a break from the other subjects that how choir kind of gives you that. It I don't know, maybe there's a part of that that kind of gives us like a little bit of rest so that we're more prepared the next day. But I also think that I've really seen like as I've grown as like a performer and a singer, I've really seen how like I've learned things about like kind of trusting the process, about like figuring out different like problem-solving skills that help me with my voice, but that can also be applied to other classes.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Learning to take direction from people. I think a lot of people might, you know, if you hear, oh, you're doing it wrong, regardless of how that's said in your direction, then I'm not doing it wrong. Oh, okay, maybe I am, but you know, even just being able to adjust, and I think, like you guys have said, being able to match, you know, I mean, you're matching pitch with how many kids at the same time. Just listening to others, whether they're your peers or your directors, I think is such a strong skill to be building at such a young age. We're now, we're not even heading into the holiday season. We are in the holiday season, we are in the mix. I'd love to know what you all are doing. I know you have a lot of concerts going on, any special events or things that you're looking forward to or that you've done.
SPEAKER_04:I'm in the Madrigal, our highest choir, and in a cappella, our like first sort of step up audition choir. And we started our holiday music like weeks ago. And like before Halloween.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, our first concert was early October, and we were we were starting holiday stuff right after that. So such is the life of being a choir student, isn't it? If you want to be prepared, you gotta learn.
SPEAKER_04:Oh yeah. But it just helps me feel the holiday spirit personally, and it's just fun to start the holidays early on.
SPEAKER_09:It is so fun to like begin working on Christmas music like the second week of October, and you're walking out of class with like Christmas songs stuck in your head all day. So that's really fun. But one of the performances that we have in December is we have the honor of performing in the tabernacle down at Temple Square every year. And it's such a cool experience to look forward to. Like all this music that you've practiced and rehearsed in class is now in an entirely different space, but it just has such a magic to it. And so that's one of my most favorite experiences in our Christmas season.
SPEAKER_08:I love the tabernacle as well. It's so fun. It's so fun to like go downtown and be in that area, and it's so like Christmasy and and you get to be with all your friends and stuff. But I also just love like all of the, especially like in Magrigals, we have so many performances. Like some of them are like after school, a lot of them are during school, but it's just like so fun to be able to, you know, perform together in so many different places and singing fun Christmas songs that we all love. It's like the best.
SPEAKER_06:It it really is a wonderful experience. We're we're visiting a couple elementary schools in our in our circuit. We're performing at Mountain Jordan Middle at their holiday choir concert, we're doing some senior assisted living centers. We've been invited to perform for the Corvette owners of Utah. Okay, and the daughters of the Utah Pioneers. And so there's all these groups, and so as a director, it's really fun uh as we as we get into these months. I just sort of keeping an eye on my inbox.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_06:And these requests will come in and we try and line up as many as we can because I it's it's a busy schedule, right? Oh but busy in a good way and pretty fulfilling. I I hope. Yeah, I'm not paying you money to say that in the right. I really do. At the end of the season, I'd feel exhausted, but it's that really good, positive kind of exhausted where I think there's an impact that's made. And it's not just an impact on us, but it's the people that we have the chance to perform to, especially in some of those instances. Some of my favorite performances are at those assisted living centers. Yeah. Yeah, having a chance to go in, and it's really becomes a little more of an active service. And I love that aspect of it so much.
SPEAKER_03:And I imagine that sense of community is just like you said, so fulfilling. You just go home at the end of the day and you're exhausted, but in that good way where you know you're gonna get a good night's sleep. Yeah. And you're going to California in the spring. Yes. What's the deal there?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, I think that's one of the facets of a good, healthy performing arts program. And it's something we do really well at Jordan, is an opportunity to do a yearly tour. Now it's something the students have to opt into because it does come at a cost. Sure. We do a fundraiser, we try and help it make it as easy as we can on the students. But every year we're taking it's actually not just the choir. I think a cool thing we do at Jordan is we go with the orchestra and the band as well. So it becomes a big joint effort. We try and do a sort of bigger tour one year, and then the next year we'll do a smaller one, and then a bigger one, and a smaller one. So California is one of our bigger years. Two years ago we went to Disneyland, we went to Anaheim. Last year we went to Boise. This year we're going to San Diego. And those tours, it's not about it, it is about having fun, but that's not the only facet of this experience. So we usually participate in a national music competition. It's called the Heritage Festival. Two years ago we did music in the parks, but it's this nationally recognized thing. We got some trophies last time we did this. We're hoping to take some trophies again. Yeah. We try and see either a professional level musical or uh symphony performance, or so there's all these sort of goals that Mr. Wright and I, Mr. Wright's the band and orchestra teacher at Jordan, all these goals we're trying to cross off as we plan these tours. But once again, I turning it back over to the students. It becomes one of the most fun events of the year and one of the most fulfilling and awesome events of the year. Would you have anything you'd want to say about tours?
SPEAKER_04:I personally love the opportunity to not only participate in these competitions, but I get to have the opportunity to connect with my peers in another way. And one of my favorite parts about these tours is that they're through bus, and so we get to sit on a bus for hours and hours and talk and talk. And without the environment of singing, it just becomes a different environment, and I get to connect with these people, but then also compete with alongside of these talented individuals.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_09:The build-up to tour is like what, like five months? Like after Christmas, we um we start prepping our festival music, and it's like such a big build-up, and you're saving up money all year, but it's so so worth it. And the buses are really fun, they don't let us sing on the bus for good reason. Um but it's that's not my rule, by the way. For the sake of others. Um, but just like the memories you make on those tours are like they're priceless. Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:It's like there's like just so many experiences that we would not get anywhere else that we get to have, and it's really, really fun.
SPEAKER_03:I had the opportunity to travel to California with my choir a couple years in a row, and I still remember. A lot of the the events we got to go to, but that even that time just sitting for hours on a bus and bonding with someone that you maybe never would have met to begin with had you not both joined choir. So it's very cool to hear that you are going to be able to experience that as well and that you've enjoyed your your journey so far. Before we get to the song, I'd love to just ask each of you to share what message would you like to share about choir or about music and education?
SPEAKER_04:Even if you don't have experience, just trying to gain that experience in music, even if it's just for fun or just for a little bit. Gaining that experience and having that in your arsenal of, oh yeah, I did choir that year, or oh yeah, I can play this instrument even at a small level. It just is a really fun experience, and you get to not only say you did it, but you can have that skill and expertise.
SPEAKER_09:My message would be that it's like a really fun experience, and it's not just individual, it's such a team effort, and like the things that you get to build together are incredible. Like you cannot create this beautiful music or these beautiful songs by yourself. Like, sure, you can sing a solo, but the things that you can build together as a choir like are unmatchable. Like it can't reach it, you can't replace it.
SPEAKER_08:I just think it's like a really unique thing to do because like in a way, choir is like it's kind of it's easier to join, maybe than starting an instrument or like playing a sport in some ways. Because it's like everyone can sing and everyone sings like all the time, most people at least. But like the more you like get into it, the more like little things that you learn, and the more little things that you hear, and like it's actually like really hard if you like there's like just once you learn more about it, there's just so many little things that it's like it's hard to accomplish. Like when you're singing all together, it's it can be really challenging to all be able to sing like blending and on top of the note and like not flat and like with the same vowel shape and with dynamics and everything, and it's just like a really, really cool experience. And even if like you end up doing it and you don't like it, at least you did it, you know, and then you have that under your belt, and it's just really really fun.
SPEAKER_03:I'm impressed with the uh choir teacher speak on top of the notes, you're not flat. Same vowel sounds, we're making the O sound, not the ah sound. It's drilled into our heads. It is good. That's what that means Mr. Putnam's doing a good job. I was nodding my head furiously.
SPEAKER_06:I was glad to hear all that.
SPEAKER_00:How about you? I think music, you just get to meet so many different people. Like, so I've I've done Marching Man for four years, and I feel like the amount of people I meet, because it's like the whole it's sort of the whole district, I do it with Alta, and I learn people from Corner Canyon, it's my best friends I've learned there. And if I didn't do music in middle school and started this whole path, I wouldn't have met them. And like I feel like when I go to these random high schools, I see people I know because I met them at March Admit or like music or whatever. I just find friends from anywhere. I even like at the store, I just see people I know.
SPEAKER_03:That's beautiful. It's lovely to hear how you have all taken not only these life lessons, but the friendships, the memories, you're taking those to heart. You're you know taking full advantage of really just such a fun thing to do. Speaking of fun things for me and our audience, could we get you guys to sing us a song?
SPEAKER_09:Yes, yes, indeed. That'd be so fun.
SPEAKER_06:We would love to. Now, I just want to can I preface the song? Maybe we want to sing for you. Yeah. Now, there was so many students I could have picked to come do this, and all of them would have done an amazing job. This particular group of students, I felt the honor was well deserved. This group of students competed at our Shakespeare competition in October. So it's another cool thing we get to do. And this group competed in the smallest music category. It's called Troubadour. You can only have five people in it. And I would say, out of all the music events, it's it has, I think, the most entries. If you look at the schedule of events, most the most schools sort of put entries in this for the music side of the competition.
SPEAKER_03:I think it's a big event for the entire competition. It is.
SPEAKER_06:And this particular group of students this year took first place, beating out every other school in this particular category. Oh, absolutely. And we were all so proud of them. They worked their tails off for this particular song. So we're gonna present it. This isn't a holiday one. I hope that's okay. Oh, audience listening in December. This is just a little vocal snippet from the piece that they sang for the competition. What we're missing is auto harp played by Adam, recorders played by Titus and Johnny, trombone played by Johnny.
SPEAKER_03:Wow.
SPEAKER_06:Hand drum played by Kate and Evelyn. So we did this amazing thing where we did some instrument instruments and singing. And I just want on the record that I'm really proud of these students for the work and what they did. So that's what we'd like to share with you is just a little snippet of a Renaissance song called Martin Said to His Man.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, Martin said, Man, who safely. I see her. I see her chase March Mel, Mel. Marching such as the food.
.png)
