Through her own love for music, Sacred Heart Greenwich Middle and Upper School Music Teacher and Upper School Music Director Miss Annette Etheridge sets the tone in Sacred Heart’s music program. Using her personal musical background, Miss Etheridge creates new and note-worthy opportunities for students who are equally passionate about singing.
Miss Etheridge found her love for singing and music at a young age. Throughout her high school education, she participated in singing competitions and was an active member of the marching and concert bands.
Miss Etheridge graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. She then continued her education in music and received a Master of Arts degree in Music Performance from the University of Tennessee.
After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Miss Etheridge pursued a career in business for ten years before realizing that she was not following her true passion. Miss Etheridge considered performing Opera professionally, but she decided against it due to the unstable and challenging lifestyle of jumping from job to job and living out of a suitcase at times. Instead, she began teaching music and took a position at Sacred Heart.
“I love the idea of inspiring young women to love music as I was inspired when I was their age,” Miss Etheridge said. “Being a practicing Catholic, who has experience in Catholic music ministry, made teaching at Sacred Heart a perfect fit.”
Miss Etheridge teaches all fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade students in a required music class. She also teaches about one hundred students throughout the eighth-grade and Upper School choral electives.
In addition to being a music teacher for both departments, Miss Etheridge is the choral director of two Upper School singing groups: The Madrigals, an Upper School group made up of sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and the Upper School Chorus, which primarily consists of freshmen. She also conducts two Middle School choruses, the Madeleines and the Nightingales, and a joint Upper and Middle School acapella group, the Aca-Bellas.
Miss Etheridge’s Upper School Chorus is a prerequisite class for the Madrigals that teaches the basics of choral singing. They learn music similar to what the Madrigals sing and, in the spring, they work on sight singing, which is the ability to sing correct tones by reading sheet music without the use of an instrument. It requires the ability to understand the intervals between notes and know the correct pitch and tone of each note.
Miss Etheridge strives to help Middle and Upper School students shape their voices and teach them to be experienced sight singers.
Courtesy of Mrs. Eva Carrasquero
“I am always impressed with how dedicated my students are to music,” Miss Etheridge said. “Since I am also the Middle School Music Teacher, I have the opportunity to watch my students grow musically over the years.”
In her free time, Miss Etheridge is a soloist at St. Joseph’s Church in Bronxville, New York. She also sings with the Angel Choir, a choir that raises money for cancer research in Stamford.
Along with singing in a choir, Miss Etheridge takes a biennial trip with one of her groups, the Madrigals. The group visits a Society of the Sacred Heart Network school somewhere around the world over Spring Break. This year, the Madrigals traveled to Barcelona and Madrid, Spain.
Miss Etheridge’s passion for music has helped her become an influence and role model in many of her student’s lives including senior and member of the Madrigals Laura Holland.
“Miss Etheridge has been my teacher for eight years now and has been the one constant in my experience at Sacred Heart. Singing has always been a big part of my life, and Miss Etheridge has helped me grow significantly as a vocalist, allowing me to develop a passion for music,” Laura said. “She is a strong, talented, and independent woman who pushes me to be my best. I will always be grateful to her for helping me develop such a strong work ethic.”
– Celia Daigle, Staff Writer