HUDSON, N.H. – A love of music sparked a career for this Hudson Memorial School teacher. In the latest edition of Hudson School District Faculty Q&A, we sat down with Mrs. Crivello to learn more about the music that filled her childhood, a new and exciting chapter in her career, and how she’s able to inspire her current students.
Q: How long have you been teaching in Hudson, and how long have you been teaching overall?
A: This is my seventh year in Hudson and my seventh year overall. This is my first teaching job.
Q: Where’d you go to school?
A: I got my bachelor's degree at UMass Lowell, and I got my master’s degree at Boston University.
Q: How did you know you wanted to get into teaching?
A: Music, and specifically chorus, has been a part of my life since elementary school. Then I figured out that I loved it, and I did it all the way through middle school and high school. I first went to Regis College and was initially undecided when I started. I knew I wanted to teach, but I wasn’t sure if music was a sustainable job, and then I decided about halfway through my first year that I wanted to do it because of my love for music. I transferred to UMass Lowell because they had a good music education program, and then the rest is history.
Q: What else were you considering as options at first?
A: I initially thought I wanted to be a math teacher, but that dream did not take off. I felt like being a teacher could keep me sustained throughout my life and fulfill me musically. Music was a big part of my life for so long, and it felt like an obvious answer, but it just took me a little while to really come to terms with it.
Q: What is your background with music like? How was it a part of your childhood?
A: Well, my dad is a church musician, so I grew up listening to a lot of organ and piano in the house. When I was in fourth grade, there was a requirement to take chorus, which was my first instance of true singing. I also took some piano and guitar lessons, so I dabbled in a few different things, but chorus was my constant.
Q: I saw that you were recently named the president of the New Hampshire American Choral Director Association. First off, congratulations. Also, what does that role entail?
A: Thank you. It’s a two-year term, and it’s a volunteer-based position. I’m the go-to representative for anything choral-related that goes on in the state. If people have questions about certain workshops or district offerings, I can bring any thoughts or questions to our board. I’ll organize board meetings and we’ll discuss any topics that come up. I’ll also meet with presidents from other states, and we’ll discuss what they’re doing and how we can all align.
Q: In your seven years here in Hudson, how have you seen the music program change and grow?
A: My first year here was the COVID year, so by March of that year, we were remote. There wasn’t a lot that I experienced pre-COVID, so I feel like I’ve seen it grow almost from the ground-up. We had a strong program here before, but COVID affected numbers and how we could do our job, so I kind of had to rebuild and reformat what it’s supposed to look like. Every year, it’s gotten stronger because we’ve gotten that far away from that remote setting and our numbers have gotten better, which makes it easier to sustain the program. That’s also attributed to the elementary teachers, who do the foundational work to get them excited in chorus.
Q: Do you feel like you’ve been able to change the way you teach or make things more challenging over the years, given how well the program has been going?
A: I think my teaching has gotten better. With this being my first teaching job, there was a lot that I didn’t know about how to work in a school and being a teacher, but I got more confident and comfortable, which allowed me to explore different ways to teach.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of school?
A: For fun, I really enjoy yoga, which has been new for me over the past couple of years. I also like traveling with my husband and exploring New England and the world.
Q: What was the best trip that you took this past year?
A: Our honeymoon was top-notch. We explored Europe, particularly France and Italy.
Q: What would you say is the best part of your job?
A: I think the best thing is being able to teach kids about something that I loved at their age. Being able to share that passion with them and seeing how much they love it is really fulfilling.
Q: How would you describe the community here at HMS?
A: I feel like HMS in general is supportive of the music department and the chorus. Since day one, I feel like the administration has given me the ability to build the program however I’ve wanted and saw fit. They put it in my hands and gave me the flexibility to create the physical space and lessons that I wanted.
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