“‘The best thing for being sad,’ replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, ‘is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.’”
David Schildkret taught in colleges and universities from 1983 until his retirement from full-time teaching in 2023. He continues to offer occasional classes through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and is a guest clinician.
Schildkret views choral music as the ultimate interdisciplinary subject. In his conducting, he tries to bring together his varied interests, and he used the same wide-ranging thinking in his classroom teaching. Among the many courses he taught at ASU were "Laughing to Music," an examination of music and humor, courses in conducting, choral repertory, and score study. Before ASU, he taught music appreciation, music theory, music history, and various topics courses.
He also lectures in the community, most recently through AZ Speaks and OLLI, an opportunity for people over 55 to study topics of interest. Schildkret frequently gives workshops on singing to school choirs. These range from an hour to day-long sessions that focus on tone production and singing with engagement.
He is proud of the many students who have sung in his choirs and taken his classes; they have gone on to do great things. Here is a list of some of the graduate students who have studied choral conducting with him at ASU.
DMA students
These students completed a DMA in conducting at ASU under Dr. Schildkret's supervision:
Robb Butler
Ashley Conway, Music Education and Conducting, Brenau University
In-whan (Samuel) Choi, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Seoul, South Korea, Siheung City Choir
Jennifer Garrett, Director of Choral Activities, Bakersfield College
Erica Glenn, Assistant Professor, BYU-Hawai’i
Vernon Huff, Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Choral Music, SUNY-Fredonia
Laura Inman, freelance musician, New York City
Julie Neish, LTJG, U.S. Navy JAG Corps
Eunmi (Mia) Oh, Scottsdale Preparatory Academy
Kenneth Owen, Chair of Music, Art, and Philosophy Departments, Pierce College
Carolyn Rynex, 2017 winner of the ACDA's Julius Herford Award for the best choral dissertation in the previous year
Kiernan Steiner, independent artist and educator
Steve Schank, LDS Institutes
Other DMA conducting students
These students worked with Dr. Schildkret for part of their training at ASU.
Greg Amerind, Mesa Community College
Cory Evans, Director of Choral Activities, Utah State University
Ryan Garrison, Choral Director, Arizona School for the ArtsJungHwan Kwon
Kenny Miller, Coordinator, Vocal Studies and Director of The Choirs at Phoenix College
Ryan Olsen, Assistant Professor of Music Education, Colorado State University
Catherine O’Shaughnessy, Founder and Artistic Director, Windy City Opera
Craig Peterson, Director of Choral Studies and Music Department Chair, Mesa Community College
Carric Smolnik, Pianist and Assistant Conductor, Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix
Iese Wilson