Tammi Carlson has been playing the flute since she was in fifth grade, and for nearly three decades she’s taught that instrument to others in her role as associate professor of music at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.
That will change after the spring semester when Carlson retires. And the college has big shoes to fill. She not only teaches flute lessons and directs the flute choir but also teaches music theory 1 to 4, aural skills 1 to 4 and basic musicianship, the prerequisite for theory classes. The New Lenox resident also volunteers as advisor to the Tritones student music club and plays with a small chamber ensemble at Moraine Valley.
Although she loves playing the flute, it wasn’t her first choice.
“I picked it because I wanted to play the drums, but my mom wouldn’t let me because she said it would be too loud. The flute was my second choice,” she said, adding that she began playing the accordion when she was 5 and had to have help from the driver getting it on the school bus for show and tell because it was bigger than she was.
Her path to becoming a teacher wasn’t always clear, even though she began in music education at Valparaiso University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance, followed by a master’s degree in music performance at Roosevelt University.
“I got all the way through the whole program and did my student teaching. The band director handed me the baton and walked away. It was junior high and they ate me alive,” Carlson recalled. “That’s when I turned to music performance. But I come from a family of teachers. It’s in my blood. College level is good because they bug you but you can send them on their way.”
She describes her teaching style as interactive, thanks partly to whiteboards throughout her classroom. “The students don’t sit in their seats all that long. I get them up out of their seats,” she said. “I put a coffee pot in there years and years ago because I don’t like them quiet. I like them awake and interactive.”
Her style might differ from other instructors in another way, too. “I once had a professor who had been teaching at Moraine a very long time. He told me not to get emotionally involved with (my) students – keep a wall there. I just can’t do that. I want to get to know them and I want them to know me. I want to have a friendly relationship so they feel comfortable with me if they have problems with school or home.”
Carlson’s favorite aspect of teaching is the one-on-one time she has with students, and it’s one reason her office hours are popular. “When a student isn’t doing well, they need to get that one little piece that they missed. Then you get that lightbulb moment when they get it. They know that I like it, so they get help and it’s very well-attended,” she said.
WIth her husband retired and a planned move to be closer to her daughter, retirement was a logical next step – especially given a recent issue with her hearing that began in July after drywall dust led to an extreme allergic reaction and ear infection. Although the infection cleared up after several rounds of antibiotics and steroids, “my hearing fluctuates between sounding like an airplane is landing in my ear to being so normal I forget there is even a problem,” Carlson said.
But it’s getting better, and her family, friends and students have been supportive. “It is terrifying to perform when you don’t know exactly what you sound like,” she shared. “When I am having a good hearing day, I spend extra time playing my flute because it’s such a relief to feel normal.”
After she retires from her 27-year career at Moraine Valley, Carlson plans to provide tutoring at colleges close to their new home. “I think the biggest plus is with the timing – I don’t have to be there in the morning,” she shared, adding that she’s not a morning person. “My students will attest to that. If they don’t know me and stick their head in my room before class, they’ll only do that once!”
But other times, she shares with them her stories of how hard she found music theory classes, including the times she left the classroom crying.
“It’s all about what makes music tick, so you have to be able to understand the nuts and bolts, the notes and chords themselves, the minutiae of it all,” Carlson said about why the classes are so difficult. “Then you have to be able to take a bird’s eye view and see how those notes and chords are relating to each other. Finally, you have to try and get inside the composer’s head and figure out why did he/she write it this way. So it’s looking at the details and the big picture all at the same time. … It’s a lot.”
The flute lessons she teaches – as well as the flute choir – are both credit and noncredit, and her students range from sixth grade to those in their upper 70s. The flute choir is made mostly up of community members who are working in school systems or are retired band directors. “There are a lot of other professional musicians there. I can give them anything and not worry about it being too hard or if they can play it,” she said.
She’s looking forward to both the community outreach performance the flute choir will give at a nursing home in Tinley Park at the end of the semester, as well as Final Farewell: Flute Choir Favorites, set for 7 p.m. March 27 in the Oremus Theater at the college’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, 9000 W. College Parkway. It’s free and open to everyone.
“I picked all my favorite songs. For me, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said. “The flute choir I have right now is amazing – 15 people – who are more like a family. They share everything. We have parties and get-togethers at the end of every semester. … I’m going to miss them a lot.”
One person who will miss Carlson is her supervisor, Nick Thomas, chairman of Fine Arts & Humanities, who also directs the Concert Chorale and Chamber Singers ensembles and is in his 28th year at the college. He also directs her in his role as music director for SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Naperville, where she sometimes performs in a small chamber ensemble.
“I’ll miss having a friend there. I’ve known Tammi for a long time. She started as a part-time flute instructor. I was here when she was hired,” he said. “I’ll also miss her for selfish reasons – she makes our choir recordings. She’s been my right-hand person for some things. She’s a tech girl. She’s a good team player, not only in the music discipline but the entire department.”
Thomas used the word “phenomenal” to describe Moraine Valley’s flute choir, which Carlson founded. “It’s not just a concert of people playing the flute. She does PowerPoints. She talks about the songs. She tries to make them theme-based.” He said the 125-seat theater where she typically performs completely fills up.
“I hope we find someone who is as dedicated to student success as she is,” Thomas added. “That’s why her office is full of kids almost every day of the week.”
A search began for her position and drew more than 145 applicants, which have been winnowed down to 11 people and soon that number will be four or five finalists. “We’re not going to find another Tammi. They might have the theory or they might not have the flute. We’ll look for a flute (instructor) so we can keep that position going,” he said.
But Thomas knows Carlson will be a tough act to follow because of her high standards and dedication.
“She’s very thorough, very student-focused, student-centered. She wants to make sure the students understand the concept,” he explained. “Out of all my faculty members – and I have 14 full time and 30 part time – you will always see students in her office during her office horse where she’s working with them. … She goes that extra mile. She does that on her own. A lot of times nobody comes to see you at your office hour. I’ll walk past and see one to five kids in her office.”
Thomas also praised Carlson as a performer. “She’s very conscientious of her part and the role it plays with the whole orchestra, whether it be 10 players or 50 players. She practices. I know that because I hear her in her office with the door closed.”
For her part, Carlson has appreciated working with Thomas and others, including current dean Cindy Anderson.
“I’m grateful for the support the administration has given me all these years. Nick Thomas has been such a great boss and so supportive and the deans we’ve had all these years,” she said. “They are so supportive of my department and I appreciate that. So many schools are shutting down (music classes.) I’ve been given free rein all along and they’ve supported me along the way.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter.
