March is National Music in Our Schools Month, and District 7 kicks off our celebration with news of an upcoming transition in our orchestra program leadership.
Following 17 years as orchestra coordinator and conductor of the Spartanburg High School Symphony Orchestra, Jeff Kuntz will retire at the end of this school year. As we celebrate his leadership and look towards the future, District 7 is pleased to announce another beloved, long-time leader in our orchestra program has been tapped to take the helm. Helen Tipton will begin her tenure as coordinator of orchestra effective July 1.
Above: Jeff and Janet Kuntz, both long-time teachers in District 7's music programs, will retire at the end of this school year. They are pictured with their son John, a Spartanburg High School graduate majoring in music performance at the University of South Carolina.
Tipton has worked alongside Jeff Kuntz for the last 17 years at Spartanburg High School while also serving as elementary strings coordinator for the district. Her appointment reflects District 7’s commitment to invest in and support the professional development of talented educators as we prepare them for leadership that not only impacts students, but also other teacher leaders. This passing of the baton from one colleague to another also positions our orchestra program for a seamless transition as we continue the innovation and excellence that are long-standing hallmarks of our music programs.
Hailing from a family of multi-generational musicians, Mrs. Tipton was inspired by grandparents, aunts and uncles – among them were members of the Detroit and Columbus Symphonies and a band director at Florida State. Her love for music and calling to become a music educator was nurtured and inspired especially by her grandmother, Betty Murphy, who was named Oklahoma state violin champion at the age of 12 (pictured below) and became one of the few female orchestra teachers of her era. For Helen, music became the part of her life that often made the most sense – it was where she felt connected to others and inspired to create. Her calling, she discovered, is to continue her family’s legacy of instilling a love of music within our children and youth so their lives can also be enriched by its beauty.
In District 7, Mrs. Tipton does just that. Whether dreaming up creative themes to make strings camp fun for 5th graders just entering orchestra, donning a costume (with full face paint) for our middle schoolers’ annual Halloween concert, or decorating the orchestra pit for our annual district musical to ensure students performing below the stage have just as much fun as the ones on it, she is always a student favorite. And through these relationships come our students’ willingness to strive for excellence under her baton, leading to multiple Outstanding Performance Gold Awards and Superior ratings at the South Carolina Music Educators (SCMEA) Concert Performance Assessment and Solo & Ensemble Festival. Mrs. Tipton’s students are regularly selected to perform in Region Orchestra, All-State Orchestra, the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, and the Spartanburg Philharmonic Youth Orchestras.
In addition to her teaching, Mrs. Tipton has served as a guest conductor for All-County Orchestras in Pickens and Greenville counties and has been selected to conduct the Region 2 (9–10) Orchestra. She currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and previously held the role of Concert and Performance Assessment Chair for the SCMEA Orchestra Division Board. During her tenure as Education Chair for the Spartanburg Philharmonic Board of Directors, she was instrumental in establishing the Spartanburg Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, which is comprised of the best musicians from throughout Spartanburg County’s seven school districts.
As a familiar maestra for the District 7 and Spartanburg communities and a respected leader within her profession, Helen Tipton is thrilled to begin this new chapter in partnership with her colleagues in our orchestra program!
A World Class Orchestra Team
District 7’s team of orchestra teachers nurture our young musicians starting in fifth grade in every elementary school, alongside their counterparts who lead our band and choral programs. Together, Jeff Kuntz, Allison Key, Helen Tipon, Jennifer Diehn, Dr. Theresa Jenkins Russ, and John Kvasnicka (pictured above from left to right) work collaboratively to cultivate students’ musicianship from elementary through high school. Our award-winning middle and high school orchestras earn invitations to perform for music educators statewide at the SCMEA annual conference, receive numerous student ratings of excellence and superior at solo and ensemble competitions, propel students to successfully audition for Region and All-State Orchestras, and consistently garner the highest level (Gold) Outstanding Performance Award from SCMEA.
About the District 7 Orchestra Program
District 7’s orchestra program is recognized as the oldest public school strings program in South Carolina and celebrated its centennial anniversary during the 2020-2021 school year. Originally founded in the fall of 1920 with just one strings class of 3-5 students led by Mrs. Marie Upton, the program grew to include more than 500 players across 10 campuses by its 100th year. The District 7 orchestra pre-dates the Spartanburg Philharmonic (1928) and the Charleston Symphony (1936), the two oldest professional orchestras in South Carolina. A hallmark of the program has been its European performance tour, which has taken place every four years for the past several decades and provided students the opportunity to perform on our world’s stage. The SHS Symphony has also performed for the American Association of School Administrators’ National Convention on at least four occasions, including in Atlanta, in the New Orleans Superdome, in Dallas, and in Orlando for audiences of more than 10,000 school superintendents. The orchestra held the distinction of having performed for this prestigious event more than any other high school orchestra in the nation. The Symphony and Viking Orchestras have consistently won the highest recognition given by the SCMEA - the Outstanding Performance Gold award.
Beyond performance, the orchestra program fosters teamwork, discipline, and artistic growth, helping students build confidence and a lifelong appreciation for music. Whether aspiring to professional careers or simply enjoying the creative outlet, students gain invaluable experiences that enhance both their musical and personal development.