There aren’t too many Chandler graduates who didn’t have Mrs. Jana Telford at some point, whether it was a music program in elementary school or helping with honor choir auditions in junior high and high school.
For over 40 years, she’s been teaching students how to love the “language of music” from East Side up to the high school.
“I don’t want to say theory and all that because that can sound pretty boring, so I just called it the language of music,” she said. “That sounded pretty romantic.”
She said it’s always been about the kids and that she loves teaching them to love music.
Next month, Mrs. Telford will be recognized for her many years in music education. She is one of 14 individuals who will be recognized by Gov. Kevin Stitt during the 45th Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Awards on Jan. 30.
Mrs. Telford is one of five receiving the Arts in Education Award.
“I was shocked. The man that called me, his name was Joel Gavin from the Arts Council, he told me, he said, ‘You’ve been selected to receive the Governor’s Arts in Education Award,’” she recalled. “I was just in shock and I said, ‘Are you sure?’” She was then told that she needed to keep the award secret until they had notified all the recipients, which was “very hard.” However, Mrs. Telford was then so busy on the day they made the public announcement that she didn’t even realize they had done it until a former student contacted her daughter, Jamee, sending congratulations.
“She had no idea. And she texted me, ‘Did you win an award?’” Mrs. Telford said.
Mrs. Telford first fell in love with teaching children music when she was a student at OCU. She taught piano lessons and worked with some children’s choirs. At the time, she was a piano major.
“After I got my degree for piano, then I stayed an extra year and took all the education courses and went into music ed,” she said.
Her first teaching position was in Denver - what she calls an adventure with her roommate. They taught there for a year when her roommate got married, and Mrs. Telford came back to Oklahoma. She taught in Oklahoma City and then began working at Chandler schools in 1969.
She said that she loves teaching in a small town, especially one that has had several administrations that support the arts.
“They’ve all been wonderful,” she said. “And that makes the difference.”
However, for Mrs. Telford, it’s too difficult to pick a favorite memory or thing that she’s enjoyed about teaching in Chandler all these years.
She likes to watch her students put their skills to use during performances, including the children who may not necessarily make music their vocation. She is happy to see that they still have a love of singing and learning about music.
“All the programs we did, I just enjoyed on all levels,” she said. “But I think my primary goal was, like I said, to teach them the language of music.”
She added that she’s also enjoyed reconnecting with old students since the award was announced, saying it’s been the best part of receiving the award.
When asked if she ever thought of retirement, Mrs. Telford said it runs through her mind sometimes and that she would like to retire eventually.
“I would like to, at some point, stop and go see my family that lives all over the place. I would like to do some things,” she said.
Mrs. Telford then said that she loves teaching music and being at the school, meaning she likely won’t be stepping away from the classroom anytime soon.
The 45th Governor’s Arts Awards will take place on Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. in the fourth-floor rotunda at the Oklahoma State Capitol. A reception will follow at the second-floor rotunda. The event is free and open to the public.