Spotlight on: Rebecca Matte
Middle-High School Chorus Teacher, Show Choir Director, Middle & High School Musical Director
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Q. What date did you start in the new role?
A. August 2026.
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Q. What is your background experience that led to this position?
A. I’m from Rome, N.Y., and spent the last three years doing my master’s and teaching in Boston. During my graduate work, I taught voice lessons, high school music theory, middle school choir, elementary general music and some other odds and ends. When I saw that the job in Herkimer was posted, it felt like my sign that it was time to come home. 🙂
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Q. What makes you excited about working in your new role at Herkimer CSD?
A. I’m most excited to start auditioning for our extracurricular ensembles! This fall, we’ll be holding auditions for the middle school musical, show choir and high school musical.
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Q. When did you first know you wanted to become a teacher and what made you feel that way?
A. I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was 12. I had really fantastic music teachers in middle school. They went above and beyond to give me a wonderful band and chorus experience. I knew then it was what I wanted to do! There’s this funny story that my dad loves to tell. I was supposed to be working on a science project, and I came out of my room to tell him about the Crane School of Music, announce that it was my dream school and declare that I was going to be a music teacher when I grew up. He famously said, “Can we make it through this cell diagram before we think about sending you to college, please?” I did finish the cell diagram, and in 2022, I graduated from Crane with my BM in Music Ed & Performance!
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Q. What do you think makes Herkimer CSD special?
A. The people! Everyone I have interacted with is so kind, student-centered and proud to be working here.
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