Get to Know John Kincaid
How long have you been at MBHS and where had you taught before?
This is my third year at MBHS. Previously I taught choir at Simmons Middle School in the Hoover school system for 15 years.
Were you involved in choral programs growing up?
My mother is the music minister at Saint Mark United Methodist in Vestavia Hills, so I grew up singing in her children’s choirs and productions. I was in the Birmingham Boys Choir under the direction of Ken Berg and was heavily involved in the choral program at Berry High School under Diana Mayhall.
I also played baseball and ran cross-country for Berry High School. It was difficult to manage all the different aspects of these, but it worked. It seems that our culture has shifted now so that young people are almost forced into deciding what their skills are and whom they should be before they have even had time to explore.
I went to college at Birmingham-Southern and wanted to double major in music education and civil engineering. You can’t major in both, so I chose music education because I loved working with kids (I was a youth director for three years in college). So I really did not know what I wanted to do even then. I think I finally decided when I stumbled into the position at Simmons (long story) that this is what I should be doing.
How many different choral groups are there now?
There are four choirs that meet during the school day, with Women’s Choir being split into two separate classes. Honors Choir, Chamber Choir and Men’s Choir make up the rest of those. A Bunch of Guys a cappella ensemble is the only group that meets outside of school.
How many students participate in choir?
There are 245 students as of today.
What are the big performances that take place each year?
The fall show “21st Century Brookie” was in October. The Winter Concert is open to the public on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the MBHS Fine Arts Center. The Spring Concert is open to the public on May 5 at 7 p.m. with the location to be determined.
On April 10, 12, 13 and 14, the spring musical, “Once on This Island,” will be performed. This is a joint production involving the theater (Jesse Tilton and Gary Weatherly), band (Frank Blanton) and choral departments at MBHS. Tickets are required for this.
The Fall Show has become quite an event, complete with choreography. What goes into such a huge performance involving so many students?
It is a large production, and it takes a lot of people to make it happen. Todd Underwood, our choreographer who lives and works in New York, comes down at the beginning of summer. We spend a week working with the choir president (Austin Russell for 2013-2014) and my wife, who teaches at Simmons Middle School but also freelances as a choreographer, to put together a show centering around a theme.
It requires anywhere from 35-45 songs to be able to make a viable show of this size. We divide the songs into medleys. This year we had nine different medleys that had about three to four songs each. We attempt to mix in different moods into each medley but focus on energetic, positive songs.
David McNeeley then arranges the songs into choral transcriptions and develops accompaniment tracks for the show. Todd comes back to town after school and starts to teach.
We have seven weeks from the first day of school to learn and memorize both the music and the choreography. I am amazed every year that these kids can do it. We have a wealth of talent at MBHS, and the kids work so hard to make this show successful. They are so involved in so many other activities that it really is awe inspiring to see their commitment and effort.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working at MBHS?
I have a 7-year-old son, a 2-year-old daughter and the best wife ever. I love spending time with them doing whatever we can. Soccer, yardwork, hiking — anything with them is the best.