After nine years with Ector County ISD, Ken Sieloff is heading back to school in the fall to earn a master’s in choral conducting at the University of North Texas.
Sieloff was head choir director at Permian High School. He had been associate choir director under Director of Fine Arts Aaron Hawley for three years. Sieloff started with the district at Crockett Middle School and was at Odessa High School for a year before moving to PHS.
Sieloff’s wife, Annie, was the choir director at Nimitz Middle School.
Sieloff said going for a master’s has been a dream of his for quite some time.
“The years just kind of kept passing by, and as Annie and I had been discussing it, it just felt like the right time. Again, in consultation with family, mentors and through a lot of prayer, it just felt like the right time,” Sieloff said.
He will be studying with Allen Hightower, a former director of choirs at Permian. Sieloff said it was “really cool” that Hightower is a Mojo alumni.
“… He’s one of the best in the field and I’m really looking forward to working with him,” Sieloff said.
He searched schools that he thought he’d be interested in and narrowed it down to UNT and the the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
“I applied at both, auditioned at both and was accepted to both. After much prayer and talking with my wife and other family members, friends and mentors (I) decided on UNT because we both were hoping to stay in Texas, certainly because my wife would be able to more easily find a job where she would be able to continue teaching music,” Sieloff said.
He added that knowing Hightower for some time before this, knowing that he’s at UNT and that there’s a strong connection between UNT and Hightower, it felt right.
He doesn’t know if he’ll continue on for a doctorate at UNT, but he hopes to complete his master’s and doctorate back to back.
Part of the process of going back to school is figuring out what he wants to do next.
“But something that’s on top of my list right now is to move on and teach at the college level, working with undergraduates and eventually one day graduate students. I think that would be something that I would really enjoy and really find a lot of fulfillment in,” Sieloff said.
The Sieloffs are both from Michigan originally, although they didn’t meet until they got to Odessa. He is from Northville.
They have an 8-month-old daughter, Charlotte.
“I moved there in 2013. She moved in 2014 as she looked to come to Odessa. Dr. (Daniel) Loudenback, who was the director of fine arts at the time made the introduction, and as soon as we met, we became close friends and ended up doing everything together when she moved down and just became very close,” Sieloff said.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in choral music education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“Dr. Loundenback was the reason I ended up there (in Odessa). He did his DMA, his doctor of musical arts degree, at the University of Michigan in saxophone performance and so he knew that students coming out of college there were looking for jobs. But there’s just not a lot of availability in the state of Michigan for brand-new teachers. They’re looking more for experienced teachers. It’s obviously a much smaller state, so fewer opportunities and so he would contact the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, which is where he found Annie … who came highly recommended from their professors. One thing led to another, bada bing, bada boom, and I ended up in Odessa,” Sieloff said.
He said the people in Odessa are what make it special.
“… Furthermore, the opportunities that I was presented with while in West Texas were unbelievable. I’m very proud of the things that I was able to accomplish while I was there,” Sieloff added.
He took a choir to the Southwest American Choral Directors Association, earned the Texas Choral Directors Association Young Director of Distinction award and met countless professionals in his field who have helped him along the way.
“There are just so many things that have set me up for success while I was in Odessa and I have to thank not only the professionals in Odessa, but also the people that helped foster that positive experience while we were there,” Sieloff added.
One of the things he learned about being in charge is that it’s not always sunshine and roses. With the joy and excitement comes the not so fun stuff, including “those people who don’t think you should be there.”
“My time in Odessa has reinforced the reason that I love doing what I do, which is the students and the music. Those are some of my favorite moments. Some of my favorite moments while in Odessa were made possible because of the music and because of the students, because of the connection between those two elements,” Sieloff said.
He added that he will miss the students dearly.
“There are so many students who have had such a positive and strong impact on my life, that have made me a better man, a better teacher, a better dad. Those students, especially at Permian, were my family,” Sieloff said.
He added that she shared his proposal to Annie with one of his choirs and several former students attended his wedding in Michigan.
“I remember texting all of my students the day of my wedding saying, we’re getting married on our communication text app and sending them a picture of me and Annie and then sharing with them that we were expecting our first child. Those are big, milestone moments. I think Annie and I would both say the same thing, some of our favorite moments were not sharing that news with friends, but sharing that news with our students was probably the most exciting part,” he said.
As for being a student again, Sieloff said he has mixed emotions such as the anxiety that comes with being a student and a high achiever.
“I have to do entrance placement exams coming up here in a few weeks and it makes me nervous. What if I’m not perfect? What if it doesn’t go perfectly well? And there’s a great deal of excitement. I love learning and I love watching and observing, so I’m just so excited to be focused on that … being responsible for just myself rather than 350 other students and several other adults,” he said.
He added that the PHS choir program is now in the hands of Laurie Wash and Stephanie Burton.
“… I know that God is watching out for them, both Laurie, Stephanie and all of the students and I know great things lie in store for that program under their leadership. It is going to be an incredible opportunity for those students to have Mrs. Wash at the helm,” Sieloff said. “She’ll do wonderful things and she’ll continue to achieve greater and greater things with the Permian choir. I’m very excited for all of them.”
Director of Fine Arts Aaron Hawley said Sieloff was associate choir director to Hawley’s head director.
Hawley said there is a long line of outstanding people who have led the PHS choir program and Sieloff upheld that tradition.
Hawley said he had the privilege of being in Sieloff’s wedding.
“We are a close-knit group,” he said.
