Music to his ears

Deirdre Newman

It’s the day of the first vocal concert of the year and music teacher

Jon Lindfors is conducting a morning class with the precision of a drill

sergeant.

“Sing out -- don’t be a wimp,” Lindfors says, encouraging the 30 or so

girls to give it their all.

The girls respond enthusiastically, as their harmony fills the room.

Lindfors, who has been teaching music at Costa Mesa High School for

almost as long as these girls have been alive, was recently recognized in

the top echelon of Orange County Teachers of the Year for 2002. In

November, he was honored along with four other finalists and presented a

check for $15,000 by the Orange County Department of Education.

His students resort to hyperbole in describing why their teacher is so

deserving of the award.

“I think he is the most fantastic choir teacher in the universe,” said

freshman Michelle Baldwin. “He has a passion for music and wants us to

focus but does it in a nice way.”

Lindfors has been spreading the music gospel to students at Costa Mesa

for 16 years, revitalizing a department that had been silenced due to

budget cuts.

Since the school starts at seventh grade, Lindfors’ goal was to have

students start with vocal music as soon as they arrived and continue as

they progressed, taking consecutively harder classes. His dream has come

to fruition as the school now boasts five choir classes -- one for each

grade, as well as an advanced madrigal choir.

“I think that’s beneficial to the students because they can get better

and better -- they can go through a graded program that encourages them

to stay with it,” Lindfors said.

Lindfors believes in teaching a comprehensive vocal music program

including reading music, listening to music and learning how to write

notes. He also has a strict teaching style, which many of his students

say they appreciate.

“He knows how to teach people,” said sophomore Rocio Rodriguez. “I’ve

been to other schools and other teachers don’t know how to teach as

well.”

His students also become seasoned performers as they present five

concerts throughout the year.

Teacher of the Year is just one of many accolades Lindfors has

received.

He was selected vocal music teacher of the year in 2000, was teacher

of the year for the high school portion of Costa Mesa in 1996 and has

also received a Golden Touch Award and Costa Mesa Citizens Cultural Arts

Award.

And what does he plan on doing with his $15,000 bounty?

Lindfors said the majority of it will be stashed away in a college

account for his son, James, who provided his family with a double dose of

good fortune -- he was born one week after Lindfors found out he had

received the award in May.

FYI: Forty-seven teachers from the county were honored as Teachers of

the Year for 2002. Teacher Robert Kelly from Newport Heights Elementary

School was a semifinalist.