2024 Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award Presented to Crane School of Music Alumna Christine Vallas ’93 of Wheatfield, N.Y.
Christine Vallas ’93 (right) of Wheatfield, N.Y., is the recipient of the 2024 Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award from the Julia E. Crane Alumni Association at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. She is seen here after accepting the award from SUNY Potsdam President Dr. Suzanne Smith (left) at Reunion 2024.
The Julia E. Crane Alumni Association recently honored Christine Vallas ’93 of Wheatfield, N.Y., with the Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award during Reunion 2024.
The Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award is presented each year to Crane School of Music alumni in public school music education who have demonstrated exemplary service in any of the areas of choral, instrumental or general music education. Vallas was recognized for her profound impact in the Western New York Music Education community and her years of faithful leadership to her students.
About the recipient:
Christine Vallas ’93 joined the North Tonawanda fine arts faculty in 1994 and has experience teaching in choral classroom music at every level from Kindergarten to high school.
She is a summa cum laude graduate of The Crane School of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in music education and vocal performance. She furthered her education at the University at Buffalo studying vocal performance, where she gained pedagogical techniques and performed as a soloist and in the Buffalo Opera Company.
Vallas has been heard as a featured soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ars Nova, and as a guest of the Government of Bermuda. She is an engaging middle school teacher and has fostered growth in students through choral ensembles, as well as staged productions.
One of Vallas’ most admirable qualities as a teacher is the empathy she has for her students. She is highly effective because of the relationships and connections she makes with students. She works tirelessly to ensure the very best for her students, ensuring they know they have a safe space when they are with her. She makes it a priority to observe students’ preferred names and pronouns and always programs diverse and inclusive music for concerts. It is because of her and the environment she has fostered, coupled with her extensive wealth of knowledge, that students look forward to participating in chorus, and simply just coming to school in general.
Outside of school, Vallas has been active in the Buffalo vocal community. She was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. She also sang on the recording of Richard Danielpour’s “The Passion of Yeshua,” which won the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance in 2021.
About The Crane School of Music:
Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York’s only All-Steinway institution and was one of the first Yamaha Institutions of Excellence. For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.
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