SILER CITY, N.C. — Matthew Fry, chorus director at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City, has received the 2019-20 Jackson Parkhurst Award for Special Achievement from the North Carolina Symphony, one of three honors presented each year to outstanding music teachers in the state who inspire students and make a lasting difference in their lives.
The Jackson Parkhurst Award for Special Achievement is named for the North Carolina Symphony's former director of education to recognize his longstanding service and commitment to young people in the state and comes with a $500 prize funded through an anonymous annual gift.
“I was excited to be nominated and thrilled beyond belief when I was chosen,” Fry said.
Now in his 32nd year of teaching, Fry directs a number of vocal ensembles at JM, is music director for the annual musical and was twice named the school’s Teacher of the Year. His choirs have successfully participated in the annual North Carolina Music Performance Adjudication, regularly achieving ratings of superior and excellent; three soloists performing this year — Kayli McIntosh, Conrad Suits and Jennifer Trejo Benitez — all received the highest rating of superior.
His students have been selected to the North Carolina Honors Chorus and participated in the North Carolina All-State Choir. He is a member of several music education professional associations and a founding board member of JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, created to provide opportunity for student actors, artists and musicians.
In addition to his teaching duties, Fry is director of The Fearrington Village Singers and the Rocky River Baptist Church choir in Siler City. He sang for nine years with the Duke Chapel Choir and several seasons with the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham, both under the baton of Dr. Rodney Wynkoop. He is a graduate cum laude of Missouri Western State College, where he was named the Outstanding Graduate in Vocal Music.
JMArts President Rose Pate, who nominated Fry for the award, said she is constantly amazed by her colleague’s impact across the entire community. She praised him for creating a welcoming atmosphere in class that attracts a broad cross-section of the student body with a wide range of musical abilities, all working together, while still demanding rigor and exceptional musicianship.
It’s an environment he also cultivates in his work with adult ensembles that helps create a broader sense of community — with many adults joining the arts foundation and attending school concerts to support the students, and students performing shows in the community.
“Matt gets it right,” Pate says. “He never says, ‘Oh, it’s good enough.’ 'Good enough' is never enough for him; he makes sure students understand what ‘good’ sounds like. But he does it with endless patience with the students’ struggles. I’ve seen him working with actors for hours, over and over, getting them ready for a solo number in the show."
Other 2019-20 honorees were Barina Bailey of Heritage Elementary School in Wake Forest, who received the Maxine Swalin Award for Outstanding Music Educator, and Matthew Holt of Durham School of the Arts, formerly with Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, who received the North Carolina Symphony Musicians Award. All three honorees are profiled on the NC Symphony website.
More information about JMArts, including details about JMArts Scholars and upcoming events, is available at jmarts.org.
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Jordan-Matthews High School Chorus Director Matthew Fry has received the 2019-20 Jackson Parkhurst Award for Special Achievement from the North Carolina Symphony. (Photo by Chip Pate)