His love of music has given Alex Piazza a clear identity, not to mention steer him in his direction of a career. PIAZZA graduated from IHS in 2005 along with classmates Preeya Patel and Morgan Dieker. The three have shared an apartment since their sophomore year. PIAZZA has attended KU with the help of three Iola-based scholarships endowed by trusts established by the Whitehead, Winslow and Adams families.
“I’ve always known I would do something in music. It’s who I am,” Piazza, 21, said via a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon.
At 3 p.m. Saturday, Piazza, a baritone, will give his senior vocal recital at First Presbyterian Church. Daniel Liu, pianist, will accompany.
As a youth in Iola, Piazza gravitated to music. He studied piano under Kathleen McCollam and participated in choir in Iola Middle School and Iola High School.
“In high school, music was something that helped me form an identity,” he said. “I studied piano, voice, composition and participated in all-state choir. In summers, I went to music camps.”
Iola is a great community for budding artists, he said. “The teachers there gave me a lot of support. Iola as a whole has been so instrumental to my success.”
Once at university, Piazza realized he was far from unique.
“There were literally hundreds of people with the same interests,” he said of the University of Kansas’ music program. “It’s nice to have so many people who share the same interests as I do. It’s great to be in a community where such a strong connection to music is shared.”
Once at KU, Piazza thought his field of study would be music composition. By second semester, he switched to music education.
“I always knew I wanted to be a choir teacher. The more I progressed in the program, the more excited I got about it.”
Next semester Piazza will begin student teaching choir at Olathe South High School and general music at De Soto in grades K-12.
As a music education major, Piazza has studied music theory, music history, and has learned to play woodwind and brass instruments. He is certified to teach K-12 band, choral and orchestra.
“The majority of classes are music-based,” he said of the program, with a smattering of general education classes such as English, biology, and composition.
His background in piano has been helpful in his pursuit of teaching choir.
“With choir, so much is piano-based,” he said. “You’re at the piano so much, playing the music, keeping the students on-key.”
Learning how to play a wide of range of instruments was humbling, he said. “It reminds you of what it feels to be a sixth-grader learning a new instrument. It’s good, because as a teacher, it puts you in the mindset of a kid.”
“We haven’t killed each other yet,” he said of the arrangement. “Actually, each of our schedules are very demanding. All of us are gone a lot.”
Dieker and Patel are pharmacy majors at KU.
Piazza said the Lawrence public schools welcome music majors into their classrooms. “They’ve been so gracious. That exposure made me realize I want to teach. It’s a little scary, but at the same time, exciting.”
Job placement for music teachers is good, he said.
“There’s a lot of turnover in the teaching profession,” he said.
In his program, there are 20 students.
“That money has made all the difference,” Piazza said. “It also has made me feel more obligated to be a good student.”
Piazza is the son of Terri and Toni Piazza, instructors at Allen Community College.
Student’s recital to show vocal talents
