News & Community
As a two-time OSAI chorus student, Danner McGarrah understands that music has the capacity to lift spirits and change lives. We chatted with him during OSAI 2023 to learn more about his inspirations and how he plans to nurture his love of music in the future. Danner graduated from Owasso High School this year, and in the fall he will begin a bachelor's degree in vocal music education at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
Can you tell me about how you got involved with music and singing?
I pretty much started singing as soon as I was born. My mom started singing me nursery rhymes, and music has been in my life ever since then. I first joined I wanna say church choir in 3rd or 4th grade, then joined school choir in 5th grade, and I really fell in love with it right after that and haven’t looked back since!
When was the turning point when you thought “maybe this could be a career for me?”
I would say probably around junior, maybe sophomore year? I was at a new school. I went to Catoosa [High School] for a couple of years. I got to work kind of as a student teacher for part of the year, and I really loved getting to help some of the middle school kids work on solo and ensemble pieces, and I loved getting to collaborate with Mr. [Brian] Holloway, the director over there. I just knew after that I’ve got to be an educator, it’s what I want to do.
And how has OSAI affected that trajectory?
Last year was my first year at OSAI, and we [were directed by] Dr. [Jeffrey Allen] Murdock from the University of Arkansas, and the way he unified the choir was so special to me. I’ve been to so many different workshops and district honor choir and all-state honor choir where you have 300 kids in a choir—the clinician doesn’t know your name, he doesn’t know who you are, he doesn’t know your story. But that was something Dr. Murdock set out to do, he wanted to know everyone and know a little bit about them, and it was just really inspiring… That was one huge takeaway from last year, if your kids know each other and like each other, they’re going to sound better because they’re going to listen to each other a lot more, in and out of rehearsal. I think that was something really special.
And this year, we just finished our first concert, and Dr. [Edith] Copley has been just outstanding. She’s been teaching for 50-something years and she just has so many nuggets of wisdom. As soon as she says something I’m jotting it down, I aspire to be her. There are so many things that she says, how she plans a rehearsal and how she can make these voices blend just by saying “use this vowel and bite like an apple!” It’s just so cool to see how easily they can fix things and move through all of the things to make the choir sound better just through their knowledge. That’s something I’ve really taken away from OSAI—be good at what you do so you can make other people good at what they do.
What are some of the traits and characteristics you’ve seen in your past teachers and teachers here that inspire you and that you want to emulate as an educator?
I have been to three different high schools now and had a ton of inspiration throughout my career. With Courtney Tice back at Inola [High School], the big thing I took away from her is patience. She was always so patient and kind with her students even when she wasn’t getting the support she needed. Mr. Holloway at Catoosa was wonderful at getting to know his students personally. It wasn’t just about “You’re a student in my choir,” it was like, “You’re a student in my choir but I want to know your story, I want to make sure that you’re okay, I want to keep you included.” And of course, Ms. [Mindy] Bettridge and the whole team at Owasso [High School]. I was only there for my senior year, but I have taken so much from them… The collaborativeness of Owasso, having not only the high school director but the 8th grade director, 7th grade director, 6th grade director, and two accompanists all come together to create one big choir sound has been eye-opening for me. You don’t always get that with the arts, you sometimes get teachers who contradict each other’s ideas, but at Owasso that’s what I take from them: if you’re working with a team, work in unity, not against each other.
What other things about OSAI, non-music-related, have really inspired you?
I really enjoyed the fact that OSAI encourages students to explore other disciplines. It’s something that not a lot of people have gotten to experience. I think it’s so cool that not only do we have to go but we get to go to these other performances because it’s so cool to see how all of these things work together. I remember last year we had a drawing & painting person who was painting during a song during the variety show, and I thought that was beautiful and amazing. There are so many different ways to incorporate all of the art forms at OSAI.
I also love how everyone here is so welcoming and accepting. I can’t tell you how many friends I made last year. Every single person in the choir was my friend, plus some of the orchestra kids, plus some of the art kids, photo, like all of them. They’re all just so kind and easy to go up to and they’re all just so welcoming, I know I already said that. But they’re beautiful humans and I love being here because of them!
What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about auditioning?
Why be on the fence?! Just do it! You only have, what, four chances to audition for OSAI? I think if you’re a little nervous about auditioning, the worst that could happen is they say no. If you’re worried about being away from home for two weeks or not making friends, you’ll make friends, I promise. Being away from home for two weeks can be a little rough, but it’s not terrible because you have a whole support system here. Even if you don’t think that choir or dance or orchestra is something that you just are crazy about and you love it, why don’t you take the experience to know for sure that you’re not obsessed with it? Or maybe you find another discipline that you are obsessed with and you’re like oh, next summer I’m auditioning for that one!
To see the full roster of OSAI 2023 students, https://oaiquartz.org/content-osai-2023-student-roster">click here.
Return to https://oaiquartz.org/news">News & Community.