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Alumni Spotlight: Cory Letchworth
- What years were you active in SLCC?
- I was a part of SLCC for 8 years. I started in fifth grade and graduated in 1991.
- What is your best memory of being a part of SLCC?
- Ethelyn Sparfeld was a huge part of the impact that SLCC left on me. Her high expectations for us as a group transferred into my teaching style. Summer tours had an impact as well as a treasure trove of memories. I always have dealt with anxiety especially being away from home. Tours pushed me to deal with those anxieties and have some experiences that I will never forget. McDonald’s in Moscow, broken down bus on the side of the highway in Oklahoma, home stays, historic sites in Boston, visiting Mrs. Sparfeld’s family on our way to Fort Worth and so many other memories and experiences that shaped who I am today.
- How do you think being a part of SLCC has impacted you?
- The Russia tour was probably the most impactful. Prior to leaving on tour, we had been learning some pieces that had been commissioned for us. As I remember it, the songs were based on writings and drawings by children in Terezin…And I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Before the trip they were just songs…and personally not my favorite. But when visiting Prague, the songs became more than just words and notes…they became the thoughts of real-life children. The songs took on a whole new life for me and for that I will be grateful. There is so much we can learn from history in moving forward with our own lives.
- What should the community know about SLCC?
- SLCC is a special place. Through music, children are exposed to so many things. In my own classroom, I used music to teach other cultures, to calm, to excite. SLCC offers these same experiences and so much more. Children from all over the area with one common goal…to make music; but in turn they also get to know one another in a way that wouldn’t be possible without the choirs and that music made together, may one day heal mankind.
