One of the orchestra directors here at Upper Arlington High School, Chris Lape, was recognized as one of the top music educators in the country by the 2024 Yamaha “40 Under 40” Music Education Excellence award this year.
Lape grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, before majoring in music education at The Ohio State University and getting his masters at University of Cincinnati in viola performance. After that, he came back to central Ohio to become a teacher– starting at Newark High School, then Dublin, and finally Upper Arlington. This is his seventh year teaching in Upper Arlington.
“When I first came [to Upper Arlington], I taught here and [at] Jones Middle School and a couple of elementaries, and then two years ago, our music program restructured to a sixth-grade start from a fourth-grade start. So for two years, I taught full-time at the middle school at Jones,” Lape said.
After long-time orchestra teacher Ed Zunic’s retirement last year, Lape moved up to work full-time at the high school. Lape works alongside three other teachers: Gretchen Zunic at the high school, Jordan King at Hastings Middle School, and Vince Huzicka at Jones Middle School. Lape still helps out at both middle schools once a week.
Outside of school, Lape plays in several symphonies.
“I play in the Springfield Symphony and the Newark Granville Symphony. I’m playing a string quartet. So we play a lot of professional performances, and, in the summertime, we play a lot of weddings,” he said.
Lape originally wanted to be a doctor growing up, despite having a constant music presence in his childhood household.
“I grew up with a mother who was a professional violinist, so I was immersed in it from day one. So of course, like any child, I was resistant, and you know, of course, I played and participated,” Lape said.
But during and after high school, he realized he really wanted to be on a music education track.
“When I started going out to the schools for field experience [in college], it felt like a natural place for me to be. So I think I found my niche in music education,” he said.
Lape’s favorite part of teaching music is the connectivity with students and the entire music-making process.
“I think one of my favorite aspects of teaching is seeing everything come together, like seeing it click in the students to the point where they are actually finding joy in making music. Especially the students we work with, they’re very open to new things and new ideas, and I think they grow a lot from that and the experiences that we’re able to give them within the program,” he said.
The Yamaha “40 Under 40” Music Education Excellence Award was established in 2021. It focuses on educators under 40 in the K-12, collegiate, and professional levels, who show innovation in the classroom and make strides to progress their music programs.
Lape was nominated for this award by several people for his hard work in the new curriculum developments at the middle school, specifically the new sixth-grade start program.
Prior to this change, students would go to their music classes twice a week for 30 minutes in elementary school and every other day in middle school. After the new sixth-grade start, it changed to everyday instruction that starts in sixth grade.
“So, you know, we’re still teaching the same core content, but we just had to revamp it. Now we start in sixth grade, and we see them every day,” Lape said.
There are numerous benefits to this new program. Within just one year, students will get through the same amount of content that they would’ve gotten through in fourth and fifth grade combined.
“You get the consistency, the daily instruction, and reinforcement of skills, especially when you’re learning new skills. A lot of repetition is how you develop those really good habits. And I think that’s the biggest help with everyday instruction,” Lape said.
Lape is excited to see how this new format impacts the future of student learning.
“Right now, our seventh graders were the first ones to start in sixth grade. And just seeing what we can do with the more time that we’ve been given for instruction and having that daily class time in middle school, how that’s going to affect us positively, especially when they come up to the high school,” he said.
There will be a senior recognition concert on April 24 that will feature all of the high school orchestras and honor all senior orchestra students.
