The West Bend Current

By Shiloh Peters, Current Staff

The new orchestra teacher for the West Bend High Schools is ready to play quite a few new notes.

Mindara Krueger-Olson replaced Seth Matuszak after he set off to teach orchestra at a middle school in Neenah, Wisconsin. The first-year teacher, known to students simply as K-O, has already implemented some changes to the program, and has more ideas waiting in the wings.

Pops Orchestra, an after-school activity in which students get to perform gigs around West Bend and play new, exciting music, already has a few minor updates.

Krueger-Olson has added a drummer to the group, opening up the doors to pianists and guitarists as well. Another minor change includes the time in which Pops Orchestra meets. Previously, it was 6 a.m. but it was moved to 6:30 p.m for the sake of scheduling. There are plenty of new gig locations being planned, but students are most excited to keep around the Farmers Market next summer. More is being planned and plenty of things are subject to change.

“Stay tuned to see where and that Pops will be performing later in the year!,” Krueger-Olson said.

When it comes to the audition group Chamber Strings, so far no major changes have been made or planned. However, Krueger-Olson has made a point to allow the sections to work with the section leaders more than ever before. Krueger-Olson also hopes to introduce chamber music to all orchestra students this year.

“Playing as a chamber ensemble is drastically different to playing in a large orchestra, so I’d like to spend a significant chunk of time on this concept,” she said.

The curriculum is a big deal. Teachers set their lesson plans around it and guardians can use the information to know what their child is doing in school. Krueger-Olson has a lot planned for the orchestra curriculum throughout the year, and continues to work through the existing plans and improve them.

Krueger-Olson hopes to teach students more about healthy practicing habits, including goal setting, which is the first focal point of the year. She also has plans to touch on multicultural music. String instruments can be used in a multitude of different ways within countless cultures.

The orchestra room has been filled to the brim with memories and jokes, including the student-favorite meme wall. No worries, as Krueger-Olson has no intentions of taking the beloved images down.

“The meme wall will continue for as long as it is feasible, because we should not take ourselves too seriously as musicians,” she said. “I like to think that memes keep us grounded.”

So what else is being added to the orchestra room? Krueger-Olson hopes to add a few minor accents to the room over time, such as string lights, and intends to make the office feel more like home. Some wishes she holds, however, are not plausible.

“I could add a sink so that people could wash their hands, that would be cool, but unfortunately I am not a plumber,” she said.

Of course, the sudden change between teachers is not easy for some. Many students had already been taught by Matuszak for three or four years when he left.

“Having Mr. Matuszak for three years, I’ll admit switching to Ms. K-O was a change, but not a bad one,” Chamber Strings student Lilia Gierach said. “She’s super sweet and is easy to get along with.”

Gierach, a West senior, also says Krueger-Olson connects to students on a friend level, not just as students. While some may think of this as strange, having a strong and trustful connection with students has gained the first-year teacher a very positive status similar to what Matuszak had achieved.

“K-O feels like a more energetic Matuszak, but again it was sad to see him leave us so suddenly,” said East senior Seth Deming, a Pops Orchestra member.

Krueger-Olson currently lives in Milwaukee. She graduated from Lawrence University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and completed her student teaching with the Shorewood School District. She became a full-time sub before coming to WBHS, and has also taught private violin and viola lessons.

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(Top image: New orchestra teacher Mindara Krueger-Olson fills the stand where former teacher Seth Matuszak once stood. Photo taken Thursday by Shiloh Peters, Current Staff.)