November 6, 2024, I got to sit down with Smithtown High School East’s beloved music teacher Mr. Hegerness. He has been working here for 25 years and is a known figure throughout the school.

When asked how the choir has changed throughout his time, he states “I get a lot less pushback from students for any song in any genre because of the way you guys consume music from the internet.” Students these days stream tons of music that was not accessible in the past, making our taste broad. He gets a lot of recommendations from students on songs they want to learn. Unfortunately, he does have some negative things that have changed; he mentions that students’ attention spans, “are dreadful! It takes me longer to teach something now than it would have taken me ten years ago.”

He recalled a moment that shaped him into the teacher he is today. On 9/11 one of his students’ father passed away, serving as a firefighter. Hegreness attended the services to support the student, even though it was only the first week of school. The student’s mother confided in him that the only reason their child showed up to school was because of choir. After this, Hegreness realized his duty as a teacher was not only to teach but also to make a comfortable environment for the students. “It made me think about it less as a job and more like a calling.” 

My final question for Mr. Hegreness was, what would you do if you weren’t a teacher?? Very quickly he said he would be a lawyer. Not surprisingly, he does have a way with words. Funnily enough, Mr. Hegreness said he would use his persuasive skills to win over a jury, instead of making kids sing. I would expect nothing less from the great Mr. Hegreness!