A Calgary music teacher is in the running for a Juno Award

A Calgary music teacher is headed to the Junos next month and is hoping to walk away with a statuette.

Heidi Wood is one of five finalists for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year award.

Since 2005, 17 music teachers across Canada have been celebrated for the impact they have on their students, their schools, and the music education profession.

Along with a Juno award, winners get a $10,000 cash prize and their school receives a grant through the MusiCounts Band Aid Program.

That program is how Wood first learned about MusiCounts and what it does for schools across the country.

MusiCounts provides funding for school music education programs and instruments.

Humbling to be nominated

Wood has been the choral music teacher at Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School since it opened five years ago.

Before that, she taught at Lord Beaverbrook High School and it was there that she applied for a MusiCounts grant.

Following that application, Wood was nominated for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year for the first time. In fact, she has been nominated and has been a finalist twice before.

“It’s super humbling, to be honest, because you don't often think about how everybody perceives you, you’re just focused on the kids in front of you,” Wood says.

This year, MusiCounts reached out to Wood to see if she wanted to put her name forward for the award again.

She presented the idea to her students and their parents, who happily put together a nomination package.

Fingers crossed

Wood is hoping the third time’s the charm this year.

“It’s been very exciting,” she says, adding she is looking forward to meeting and networking with the other finalists.

“To hear their stories, because I suspect a lot of our stories are going to be quite similar. But I’m excited to learn from what they're doing in their provinces and in their schools.”

Wood can’t wait to experience everything the Junos has to offer and learn more about the music industry.

“It’s like professional development on steroids,” she says with a laugh.

“The access to songwriter circles and Juno events and meeting people in the industry. Right from the artists that are the face of things, [to] the people who are working behind the scenes. They've got such an important role as well.”

Many proud moments

If Wood is named the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year, it will be one of many proud moments for her.

She reflects on some of the big things that stand out in her mind, but says small moments that happen every day are more important.

“That performance at a festival where we got top honours, or this particular child who went on to study music and is doing wonderful things in the world with music, or these students who are now music teachers themselves in schools in Calgary, that blows my mind all the time,” Wood says.

“But honestly, it’s the little things. It's those little ‘aha’ moments that happen in class.”

Wood says many students are reluctant to take a choral music class because they think they can’t sing, but come around after she explains that it’s just like learning calculus, biology, or any other skill in school.

“Walk into my doors, I'm going to teach you about singing, I’m going to teach you about music, I’m going to teach you about teamwork. You don't already have to be good at it to be in the class.”

Watching students grow

Wood says it’s gratifying when her students learn they can do things they didn’t think they could before.

“To see that kid who was super nervous, didn't want to put themselves out there, they get up and they do it. And their classmates recognize that and they are their biggest fans. It is the coolest thing,” she says.

Students in Wood’s choral music class are encouraged to support each other’s triumphs by snapping their fingers instead of clapping because it’s less disruptive to the lesson.

“When the students realize the step that someone else has taken outside of their comfort zone and they give these little snaps just underneath what's happening. And to watch that student… grow in that moment. It's pretty darn special. It's pretty magnificent,” she says.

“It's those moments, those real-life moments where you see them take a step and realize something about themselves they didn't know before.”

Forming genuine relationships

The thing Wood loves most about her job is the relationships she forms with her students.

“I have the pleasure that most high school teachers don't get. And that is, I've seen my students all year for three years,” she says.

“Those relationships that you build and that community that you build with those kids, music is the medium. And that's the common language that we all come together with.”

Wood says she loves being a part of her students’ journeys.

“It’s really about watching these young people grow and discover confidence, discover hidden talents, and discover that maybe this thing isn't as scary as they think it is. They get to explore that and I get to be part of that,” she adds.

When teachers share their passions with students and are invested, Wood says it makes all the difference.

“That’s how you build that relationship… through a common interest but also through allowing them to learn in a safe space and to explore who they are and gain that confidence,” she says.

“Those lessons that [the students] learn in that music classroom are for the rest of their lives.”