Breaking news: Local high school welcomes a returning student. The catch? This student is now a teacher. While students returning to Northwood as teachers is not uncommon, choir director Tyler Alessi, class of 2005, is taking on the legacy of his former teacher Zach Halop, who founded the vocal music program when Northwood High School first opened in 1999.
Although 18 years had passed since he graduated, Alessi, who holds a doctorate in music from the University of Cincinnati Ohio, was hit with the instant familiarity of the place he loved when he arrived on campus to start setting up his room.
“Things have changed quite a bit,” Alessi said. “But this choir room? Walking into it…It felt exactly how it did.”
Alessi’s experiences with Halop, who he first had as a teacher in fifth grade and later as his music teacher in high school, provided him with a perspective on the magic of Northwood’s vocal music program. He is determined to continue the long-held traditions that Halop set in place, for instance, the annual Pops concert that stretches back to the early days of Northwood.
“Halop’s been doing the Pops concert since the beginning, and I don’t plan on changing any of those things that he had in place,” Alessi said. “I want to continue those things that are sort of the backbone of the program.”
But Alessi also has a vision of his own: growing the choir program.
“When I was here, the choir program had almost 350 students,” Alessi said. “One of the things that I’m really hoping to accomplish is to get more people interested in choir and get them in the room, to get them singing more.”
As Alessi looks forward to the new year, he wants students to see the choir room as a place where they can enjoy and expand on their musical passions, just as he had felt many years ago when he was still in high school.“I want my students to come in and feel that they can be themselves, express themselves and can be about the music.” Alessi said.
In addition to providing an encouraging environment, Alessi desires to be a teacher who models empathy and compassion to students while working together as a team.
“Something that’s really important to me is that my students know, even if we’re not having a good of day, that I got their backs, and that we’re working together to get these things accomplished,” Alessi said.
A former president of the drama club, Alessi also appreciates the storytelling that can be done through vocal arts, namely through musical theater. He was involved in multiple Northwood productions, such as “The Music Man,” “Crucible” and “Beauty and the Beast,” during his time as a student and will be harnessing this passion into co-teaching a new after-school class with Northwood’s drama teacher Danyelle Bossardet that focuses on musical theater style and audition preparations.
“It’s gonna be an interesting year. It’s gonna be a lot of change,” Alessi said. “I have big shoes to fill. And we’ll just see what we can accomplish this year and moving forward.”
