Advanced education at CHS is not only limited to the students, as Joel Wilson, CHS choir and musical theater teacher, recently proved. He recently received his Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) from Claremont Graduate University, another accomplishment to add to his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree in choral conducting in hopes of strengthening his career knowledge and his abilities as a teacher of the musical arts.

The DMA is a terminal degree, meaning that it is one of the highest academic degrees in a given field of study, in this case, music. It usually takes three to four years of hard academic studying to earn the degree, a knowledge of musical history, and at least two languages are required. Wilson had to take four years of coursework, at least two years of both Spanish and German classes, and was also required to have conducted at least four musical performances during his time as a teacher. Because of his 11 years of teaching music at CHS, that requirement was no issue for Wilson.

“This degree I think has made me better at what I do,” Wilson said. “It has helped me learn more. I believe it is important to get as much education as you can, this applies for both my students and myself.”

Now that he has his DMA from Claremont Graduate University, Wilson is interested in writing more music for his concerts. His most memorable concerts include the 2012 performance in which choir students sang music originally written by Randall Thompson, a well-known American composer. Though he does not have a clear favorite, Wilson is especially fond of last year’s spring concert, where the general theme was “How Can I Keep From Singing?”

“It’s hard for me to choose a favorite concert,” Wilson said. “Part of it is the students, but also because each of the concerts are unique, and I try to make them as diverse as possible. I love my job, and I want to be as good as possible at it.”

Wilson attended CHS in his teenage years, where he was once a choir student himself for all four years of high school. After graduating from college in 1996, Wilson came back to CHS to teach. He has not taught at any other school besides CHS ever since he graduated from college, and is not planning on going anywhere any time soon. He is not certain as of now, but he may end up trying to earn another degree to keep his DMA company.