Banghart walks her own musical path; Little decisions make extraordinary experiences

     What started as a chore quickly became a lifetime of unforgettable musical experiences. Martha Banghart, the conductor and artistic director of the Deer Creek Chorale, grew up with a love for horses. In order to keep her horses she had “to do chores, and one of the chores included playing the piano.” She received her education at “Skidmore College, which at the time was the number one horse back riding program in the country.” 

     Banghart went on to teach at “North Harford and was in charge of the choral program.” When she first came to North Harford “there really was no musical program and […] [she] was given a piano that did not work.” 

      Despite the troubles that came with it, Banghart was able to build up the program at the high school and eventually started organizing reviews. What inspired her to conduct reviews rather than putting on musical plays was, she “always believed everybody is a star no matter what.” 

       She came up with the idea of “taking a theme and finding music that fit the theme and hiring a choreographer. The choral parents would do the costume and the art department would do the sets.”

     Banghart claimed “it was a whole school endeavor but, what was important was it was not a part of the curriculum and there were no after school rehearsals so that people in sports and other activities were able to participate.” 

     The former NH teacher believed that “musicals only focused on four stars that got most of the attention.” She dedicated her experience at NH to making everyone a star that shined in their own ways.

     Around the time Banghart was going to retire “the school was being renovated.” But she ended up staying and she taught her music lessons “out of a trailer for five years.” Through Banghart, North Harford students got to go on trips to places like ” Carnegie Hall and China during the Olympics.”

     Despite it being “a huge challenge at the end of ones career, it was well worth it.” NH “got an invitation in 1986 to bring a choir to Wales.” On her first trip she took “46 singers, none of whom had ever been on a plane. That is where […] [they] did the exchange with Oakdale youth choir.

  They also worked with the director, Nigel Jones who […] [they have] actually done 27 trips with since.”

    From their endeavors, Banghart “made tons of friends who came to the U.S.. [they] went back and forth about three different times but, all together took eight trips.”

     Banghart also got to take her students to “the Czech Republic, Prague, Austria, and Vienna in Salzburg, and then to Italy. [They also] sang at the Pope’s mass at the Vatican.” 

      She was “grateful […] [she] did not leave the school at the time because it was the most enriching five years.”

     After leaving North Harford, the musical instructor continued to spread her knowledge through the Deer Creek Chorale. This is a local musical group that has traveled all over the place to perform for different audiences.