GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Jamie Spring is teaching Sycamore Middle School students to play the piano.  There are big smiles all around in the Sycamore piano lab as they play their favorite songs:  Lean on Me, Fur Elise, and the Theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.  

This is the sixth year that Spring is teaching piano as an elective course.  The class is specifically for students who are not in band and don’t have a musical background.  The class of 24 plays together, with Spring at the main keyboard. The students wear headphones, so they only hear themselves play.  If Spring wants them to hear each other, they remove the headphones.

All sound is routed through a large sound board, where Spring controls what keyboards can be heard.  Students also play one at a time, for grading purposes or to perform solos. The students learn to play music scales and then learn songs.  Spring also covers music appreciation and history.

Students perform on Fridays, and Spring invites staff, students, and parents to come listen.

Some students are in their third semester of piano class, and can play with proficiency.  Eric Ramirez is one of them. He says “I like playing music and showing off.” He’s also learning to play guitar.  “This is really fun,” he adds.

Spring enjoys using the class bulletin boards to teach the history and importance of music.  One bulletin board shows the different methods of recording music over the years. He displays real examples of the Phonograph Cylinder, introduced in 1877, the Edison Diamond Disk (1912), 78’s (1925), LP’s 33 ..." (1948), 45’s (1949), Cassette Tapes (1962), 8-Track Tapes (1964), and Compact Disks (1982).  Another bulletin board is covered with posters of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Jimi Hendrix, and Queen.

Spring’s interest in music began at an early age.  He started taking piano lessons at the age of five.  For the next 10 years, he took lessons off and on, but preferred to play on his own.  His only audience then were his parents and his labrador retriever.  

He began playing in bands in high school–performing rock, jazz, and country music, and eventually made enough money to help support himself through college.  At the age of 21, he started playing and singing at church in a worship band in Chico. Shortly after moving to Gridley to continue his career as a teacher, he joined the worship team at Calvary Chapel, where he has been playing for the past 27 years.  

He has also taken part in many community activities involving music, including talent shows, concerts in the park, Dancing through the Decades, and farmers markets.  Music has always been, and will continue to be, and important part of his life. He gives God all the credit for the abilities he has been given.

For his service to the arts in Gridley, and especially to Gridley’s youth, Spring was awarded the Kaleidoscope Artist of the Year Award for 2019.