Filling her lungs with air as she exhaled manipulative tones through her vocal chords to make music. This is what Anastasia Glasheen hopes to do for the rest of her life.
Professor Anastasia Glasheen joins the Pierce College faculty in the music department. Glasheen is introduced as the new choir coach for the fall 2014 semester.
Glasheen joins the Pierce community as a full-time faculty member to shares her talented gift and knowledge as a choir coach with Pierce students.
Not only will she be the schools new choir coach, she will also be teaching a music appreciation class, a piano class and a voice class within the music department.
Professor Glasheen began teaching in 1984. Knowing she had a great passion for music she began as a piano major in college, where she sang in every choir she would get a hold of. Continuing her education, she earned her first master’s degree in music education at Potsdam College in New York. Temporarily leaving her teaching career she engaged a path in musical theatre.
In 2005, Glasheen left New York and moved 2,437 miles across the country to California. She then returned to school, where she received an acting certification at Stella Adler Hollywood Acting School. From there, she performed in musical theatre around the country for 10 years. Overall, Professor Glasheen has earned 2 master degrees within the music field, which include music education and choral conducting. Her doctorate in choral music was earned at the University of Southern California.
“I always knew I was going to have an acting or performing career, and I always knew that I would teach,” Glasheen said.
The dedicated professor is prepared to educate and work with students at Pierce College and build a great choir community.
“I have a passion for what I do so it doesn’t even feel like work. I love to share my knowledge with my students, I always have,” she said.
The musical instructor assures that there is nothing else in the world she would rather do. She was born to fulfill this musical passion.
Being a choir professor means being exposed to the public eye through her students. Her classes are more than a typical class where the professor lectures and students take notes.
Glasheen’s choir class begins with vocal warm up’s and a discussion about types of technical component of the voice. To demonstrate, she projects her voice to a room full of attentive choir students. She then asks the class to repeat and demonstrate it to her.
One lecture topic includes the intention of songs, and the meaning once words are put to music.
The ability to communicate effectively is key for professor Glasheen. It is important for students to understand the science of the voice, the science of the sound and how the voice produces within that parameter.
“I teach the art of being in a community and bringing your individuality to a group to create one dynamic, to create uniformity within an individuals participation,” Glasheen said.
“I create a teaching environment where it’s a science, an art and a self-discipline in a form of expression so it really touches many of the senses. Music always does.”
For professor Glasheen, it is important that all of her students are on the same page and working together. To be in a musical community, one must be willing to work as a team.
“A good teacher understands the time it takes to learn and also understand that every student learns differently,” she said. “So the more the variety of ways I can teach and say the same thing to achieve the same goal in a different way is my responsibility.”
“You need the feedback from [the students] and need to know where their roadblocks are. I always try to get them from point A to point B in the quickest amount of time while understanding that there will always be an obstacle before a complete understanding. The focus is to get to point B, and make it happen,” said Glasheen
Glasheen enjoys being able to help students through their obstacles in order to help them succeed.
“I like how she is willing to help the students, her teaching skills are really good,” said Pierce choir student Lisa Bran. “She makes it much easier to know where you are lost and how to improve your singing.”
Students are already impressed with Glasheen’s choir coaching skills.
“She has more of a scientific approach to singing.” Said another choir student, Jereme Torres.
“Her teaching skills are helpful. She has a good ear, so if she hears something off pitch she will stop everybody and concentrate,” said Torres. “She really works on individual parts as a pose to just running through the songs. She is someone you can really respect.”
Staff, faculty and students in the music department warmly welcome Glasheen, as a new beginning takes place in the music department.
“I look forward to making music,” she said.