Point Loma High School music director Carissa Mattison recently received the Schuchman Award for San Diego Unified School District high school music educators. The annual award recognizes her connection to her students, school and community, as well as her desire to grow music education.
“The Schuchman Award is given every year to a high school music teacher in the district who is actually nominated by their colleagues,” said Mattison, a co-music director now in her 16th year working with about 200 students in Point Loma High’s orchestra, jazz and concert bands.
“I’m not sure who nominated me. I work directly with other music teachers on Point Loma’s campus. We also have fantastic middle-school feeder teachers who we collaborate with often. Their kids come to work with us. They make me look good.”
In recognition of the value of music to students, schools, and the community, the David Paul Schuchman Memorial Award annually honors outstanding San Diego Unified instrumental music teachers.
Michael Murad, San Diego Unified’s public information coordinator, said Mattison was chosen by her peers “in recognition of her dedication and commitment to her students and teaching. Her peers also recognized that Carissa always gives her best and inspires her students, while also creating a program that excites middle-school musicians to become a part of the Point Loma High music community. Carissa’s dedication is seen by students, parents, her peers, and the Visual and Performing Arts Department. Thank you for all that you do for the students and community of San Diego Unified.”
Junior Christian Batcher, a Point Loma High band French horn player, said the school’s music program is life-changing.
“I have been in the band for about three years now and it’s been a blast,” said Batcher. “I’ve gotten to meet some amazing people here and friends that I will have for life. We always know when to have fun and when to get serious. Every section has their own tradition that they do right before we go out to perform, which makes everything just feel more fun, even in a stressful environment.”
“And when we do perform, we all try our best,” continued Batcher. “Whether you’re in a band, marching band, orchestra, choir, guitar, or even dance guard, you truly get to meet some of the best people ever.”
Mattison played soccer growing up, and was a trumpet player who switched to tuba in high school. She was unsure about teaching at the high school level. “But in college, I had the opportunity to work with young people and I discovered I had a knack for it. I loved it,” she said.
“The neat thing about working with young people is when they discover their humanity and passion. It’s so incredible to work through, be a part of, those moments. It’s also really fun to help a young person discover their own life through music.”
This is a difficult transition time for the PLHS music program, noted Mattison. “It’s kind of a weird spot because everybody is coming off two years away from being in an ensemble and hearing other people play,” she said adding, “Maybe we’re taking for granted what we had before. The scary thing coming out of COVID is that enrollment is down at a lot of schools. That does impact us, as we didn’t have the opportunity to go out and recruit at our middle and elementary schools. Now we have to kind of rebuild a whole generation of musicians.”
Mattison is pleased to impart her love of music to her students.
“Music is life,” she said. “Music makes you cry – or uplifts you. The important thing is students become more human through these experiences. They’re able to express themselves without words, able to form relationships without even speaking to each other, just communicate with a whole range of emotions how they’re feeling through an instrument.
“That is such a beautiful thing, the same way an athlete is an artist on the field,” continued Mattison. “There’s more of a focus on the whole student now. We need to provide a lot of experiences for our students, so they’re not just one-dimensional.”
