Two new faces greeted choir students at the beginning of the school year.

Since the departure of choir director Cathy Crispino and accompanist Joyce Jordan, Dwayne Dunn and pianist Vanessa Thomas have inherited the choral program.

Dunn taught in Texas public schools for seven years and spent five years teaching at the University of Arizona. Dunn came to LHS from Olathe East High School, where he worked for 11 years.

“When the opportunity came, I was anxious to move closer to home,” Dunn said. “[LHS has] a fabulous choral program, so I knew I was stepping into something good.”

Although Dunn has experience with choir, transitioning to a new school is always difficult.

“You don’t know all the things you need to know, so it’s a learning process,” Dunn said. “[I have to] learn all the students’ names, and what their singing ability is like and how well they sight-read, how [to] order a bus and all that kind of stuff.”

Thomas came to LHS from the Choral program at Free State.

“I decided to try something new,” Thomas said. “It kind of fell into place.”

Playing piano is only one of Thomas’ musical talents.

“I actually got my degree at KU in vocal performance as an opera major. That’s actually mostly what I do,” Thomas said.

Every year Thomas travels to Minneapolis, Minn., to perform in a holiday show called Jingle Bell Doc.

“I sing with Minneapolis Symphony, and then Doc Severinsen plays,” Thomas said. Severinsen, a trumpet player, is known as the bandleader on “The Tonight Show” starring Johnny Carson.

Becoming a new member of the Choir department was slightly nerve racking for Thomas.

“I was a little concerned about [changing schools] because I thought, ‘What if nobody likes me here?’ because I had a lot of student friends at Free State,” Thomas said. “But so far everybody’s been great.”

Thomas has also taken on the job of managing the music library at LHS.

“It’s been a learning experience just learning about the library filing system, figuring out where everything is located and getting music out to various people,” Thomas said. “Even middle school teachers will email me for music.”

Choir students also faced their own difficulties with adjusting to a new teacher.

“My first impression of [Dunn] was at state choir,” senior Cal Young said. “He was talking to a huge group, and honestly, I was a little intimidated. He just seems really important, and he is.”

Despite the large shoes Dunn had to fill, students have positive outlooks.

“Dr. Dunn seems like a great man for the job,” Young said. “He was Mrs. Crispino’s first choice, so I have a lot of faith in him.”

Even though the Choral program has been placed into new hands, Dunn still expects the concerts to meet LHS standards.

“Our concerts are like our final exams [but] we take them in public,” Dunn said. “There’s a lot of musically literate, interesting people in Lawrence that come to the concerts here, and we want to do a good job.”

To meet these standards, Dunn has set requirements for his students.

“The biggest thing that [the students] have to contribute is their effort,” Dunn said. “The thing I stress to [my students] is that I don’t mind if you make a mistake. I’d rather you try something and make a mistake, and I can teach you how to make it better.”

Although the first year may be bumpy, the students are enthusiastic to work with Dunn.

“I’m just excited to see what he can bring to LHS choir,” Young said.

On top of it all, Dunn is excited about becoming a member of the LHS community.

“All the traditions, events, and things that [LHS students] do here to try and build camaraderie and unity… not every high school has that,” Dunn said. “That’s something I think is really special and really important.”

Editors note: This article was edited to clarify the content of a quote.