Meet Mr. Chase King- the assistant band director, as well as  guitar and general music teacher at CCCHS. He also hopes to start a chess club and jazz band once he works out all the kinks.

In his spare time he enjoys taking care of his children so his fiancée can “get a break”.

However, before Mr. King decided on becoming a music teacher, he considered a variety of  jobs including, but not limited to, being a surgeon, a math teacher, an architect, and a Marine. His reasoning for choosing music over all the rest can best be summed up by the quotes he gave,  “music makes the world go round,” and “music is love in search of a word.”

Mr. King decided he wanted to become a teacher during his sophomore year of high school.  It wasn’t until his senior year, however, that he began preparing for the role by taking music lessons on a variety of instruments. When Mr. King was in his sophomore year of college, he became section leader for his college’s band, and continued this position through his senior year.

In 2013 Mr. King student taught here at CCCHS and realized he wanted to be a part of our community and our band.  After graduation, Mr. King switched between schools as a substitute for four years and gave private lessons to small numbers of students for three additional years. CCCHS will be Mr. King’s first year in a public school with his own students. 

One of the reason Mr. King was drawn to the area, other than the band, was the tight knit community and the school administration. “There isn’t much you can do with an administration that doesn’t understand band is important,” he said.

When talking of the band, Mr. King speaks highly of all students saying “they were very accepting” and welcomed both him and Mr. Simpson with open arms. He understands that following in the footsteps of Mr. Roger is not something he wants to try and do; however, he hopes he can help put a spin on our already wonderful band and make it better than it was before.

In contrast to his high expectations for the band, Mr. King understands that students in his general music classes did not all sign up for them. He believes that his class is slower paced, so his students have time to understand, and grasp the full concepts before moving on to the next. He wants to make the class as enjoyable as possible for his students who were placed in the class for the mere credit.  

“The hardest part of teaching is not the teaching,” Mr. King said. He wants to teach his students to be critically thinking citizens, and planning or grading, does not necessarily fill that goal. He believes that the planning and grading are all made worth it when he sees a student get the “light bulb moment” of understanding. Mr. King just wishes to better his students in all aspects of life, not just musically.

Mr. King’s belief system stems from his father who was a “tunnel rat” in the United States Air Force. Growing up, he strongly believed in the saying “mind over matter,” and that a person’s body and mind are connected. He wanted his body to be as physically strong as his mind, and his father and older brother motivated him to do so.

Overall Mr. King is excited to be a part of CCCHS and hopes to grow as a teacher as he continues learning.