Whitesboro High School (WHS) recently announced the hiring of their new choir director, Amber Speer.
This announcement comes on the heels of the school’s recent hiring of her husband Jesse as new Head Band Director at WHS. Speer, who grew up in Whitesboro and lives there now with Jesse, is thrilled to be working in her hometown.
“I’m super excited and very thankful to be hired here,” Speer said. “Whitesboro is where I’ve always wanted to teach.”
Speer attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, OK. There she majored in music education with an emphasis in elementary music before graduating in 2006. From there, her musical career has taken her on quite a journey. From working as a band assistant alongside her husband to teaching choir to K-12th graders, Speer has been a music educator in Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as several towns in Texas. Her latest job was teaching elementary music and middle school and high school band in Honey Grove, Texas. In 2008, the Speers moved back to Whitesboro.
“It was so great to come back to Whitesboro,” Speer said. “That was always the goal.”
WHS hired Jesse before the end of the school year. As much as the Speers enjoyed working together, they realized that Jesse needed a different type of band assistant. While debating her next move, Amber got a phone call from WHS Principal Marlene Robinson.
“She was one of my principals when I worked in Anna,” Speer said. “She called me up to tell me about the [choir director] job opening in Whitesboro and said, ‘You need to apply to this now.’”
The position seemed to have opened suddenly, and the hiring process was fast. Speer, who has a Master’s degree in education leadership, was thrilled to be offered the job.
“[Former WHS choir director] Leah Johnson had a lot of success. I plan to continue her work while also gaining more involvement in all-region and solo/ensemble events. I’d also love to start a jazz choir,” Speer said.
One of Speer’s biggest goals is to have more collaboration with the theater department (with whom Speer shares a work space) and fine arts in general.
“I’d love to work with the theater department to bring back Coffee House events, variety shows that band, choir and theater kids could participate in,” Speer said. “Really, we want to put the kids in the public as much as we can – have them sing the National Anthem at football games, perform at Peanut Festival, that sort of thing. We want them to get to perform as much as possible.”
Hired in May, Speer hasn’t had a chance to meet her students, but she has seen the facilities and is already working on reorganizing the workspace and preparing for a successful school year.
“Both Jesse and I are excited to keep building upon the traditions of the arts program while putting our own spin on it,” Speer said. “We’re looking forward to playing a bigger role in this community.”
