This December we celebrated faculty member Irene Chagall, who taught her final Music for Children classes this Fall Quarter to enjoy her well-earned retirement. Irene has been inspiring CMC students since 1984, much beloved in her Music for Children classes and piano lessons for her warm and playful spirit, and organization of cherished traditions like our annual Halloween Concert. Irene has taught music and puppetry at numerous elementary schools across San Francisco and Marin County, studied musical traditions all over the world, and performed with the iconic Pete Seger. As Research Associate with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, she created a documentary of global children’s hand clapping games, “Let’s Get the Rhythm: The Life and Times of Miss Mary Mack,” with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Fulbright-Hays Grant. Irene’s passion and experience at the intersection of music, theater, folk, and education has driven her exceptional creativity, and we are proud to be a part of the story.
Please join us in thanking Irene for her incredible service to CMC and the children of San Francisco for the past 39 years—sparking a joyful curiosity and love of music in all!
Watch Irene’s presentation of her musical influences and creative inspiration in the 2023 CMC Sessions: Melodic Line of my Life, in collaboration with CMC Cultural Traditions and Brass/Winds Departments