Maestro lauded for music turnaround

Jason Owens’ revival of Madison program earns $10,000 reward

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Feb 29, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (7 Reader comments)

JIM CLARK / TRIBUNE PHOTO

Jason Owens’ transformation of Madison High’s music program did not go unnoticed by the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. He’s received a grant for music teachers who go above and beyond their job descriptions.

When Jason Owens arrived at Madison High School two years ago to teach music, he found a dusty and abandoned band room with instruments in such disarray that the piano keys looked like they’d been burned and beaten with baseball bats.

“There was nothing” in terms of music programming, he said. “But I was just amazed by the facilities here. It was a shame.”

Since then, the eight-year Portland Public Schools veteran has rebirthed Madison’s all-but-dead choir and band programs, complete with an eighth-grade cadet program that joins the high school band four times a week from nearby Roseway Heights K-8 School.

“I needed them,” says Owens, who formerly taught music at Gregory Heights Middle School, which merged with Rose City Park Elementary last fall to become Roseway Heights. “When I got here, I had two kids in band.”

After two years of 50- to 60-hour workweeks, including mentoring students at lunch and after school and putting on concerts for the community and student body, Owens has created a concert band of 30 students, a beginning and advanced choir of 45 students, and a 14-student drum line, which plays school sporting events and local parades.

For his efforts and dedication, Owens, 34, this month was awarded a personal $10,000 grant from the California-based Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for best emulating the traits of the famous music teacher in the classic 1995 film of the same title.

“Mr. Holland’s Opus,” which happens to have been filmed at Portland’s Grant High School, is the life story of an aspiring composer who takes a job as a music teacher, thinking it’ll be a light day job – only to find himself sacrificing his personal life for the job and winning the respect of students and teachers who find his passion unparalleled.

For the award, Owens says, he’s deeply honored – although he admits, he hasn’t seen the movie in quite a while and never aspired to be like Richard Dreyfuss’ character. He always wanted to teach, however.

“I have spent a lot of time and energy,” Owens said while watching over a group of students at study hall on Monday afternoon. “I love working here. I love these kids. I love this school. I just want to see it be one of the best programs in the city. I’m going to do everything in my power to strive for excellence in music. It’s already happening. I can see it in their eyes.”

Owens, whose own background is in the clarinet and singing, is one of five recipients nationwide who’ll receive the award April 4 at Carnegie Hall in New York. The others are from Houston, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Southfield, Mich.

Foundation Director Felice Mancini said her organization did 12 site visits to teachers around the country to see who might be most deserving.

Some of the criteria include instilling a love of music in students through instruction; having the passion, dedication and leadership skills to persevere under difficult circumstances; giving generously of their time, energy and talent beyond what’s expected; using creativity when faced with a lack of materials; and inspiring students to be better musicians.

Meanwhile, the shows go on

Owens, who has two young children with his wife, who works at Cleveland High School, says he wants to use the experience and the emerging success of the music program to bring positive attention to Madison, which has three small academies but hasn’t fully split into the autonomous models Roosevelt and Marshall have adopted.

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