Sam Kaatmann, from Sts. Joachim and Ann, is among 112 music educators to participate in community concert
At the end of music class with her fourth graders at Sts. Joachim and Ann School in St. Charles, Sam Kaatmann reminded students that they would be leading the music at Mass following their Easter break.
Noting the Gospel that day would be about Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Kaatmann took song recommendations from her students: “All Are Welcome” and “Jesus Living Bread,” among others.
Openly celebrating faith through music is a highlight of Kaatmann’s work as a music teacher, she said. For the past 12 years, Kaatmann has taught students at Sts. Joachim and Ann from preschool though eighth grade, including a band program for fifth through eighth graders.
Kaatmann’s love of music also extends beyond the classroom. She was one of 112 K-12 music teachers who were recently chosen to participate in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Extra Credit concert on April 24. The event was designed to celebrate educators who teach music in the community with a side-by-side concert experience with SLSO musicians. Teachers from Missouri, Illinois and Kansas, and as far away as Florida, will share the stands in a performance of works by Gustav Hols, Georges Bizet and Bedřich Smetana, under SLSO conductor Samuel Hollister.
A flutist who holds a degree in music education from Lindenwood University, Kaatmann first learned about the program from a fellow teacher. Missing the ensemble experience she loved in college, she applied and was first selected to play with the symphony at Powell Hall two years ago.
The experience became even more meaningful when some of her own students attended the concert with their parents, some of whom encountered live classical music for the first time. Their excitement after the performance convinced her to return to the program a second time. “When they came back, my kids were so excited,” she said. “The fact that my kids went down there and had an awesome experience, I was like, all right, I’m definitely doing this again.”
Kaatmann got her start with music as a student at St. Joseph School in Cottleville, where she joined the band program on flute and later added saxophone. She continued her musical interest at St. Dominic High School, playing multiple instruments including clarinet, saxophone and French horn. At Lindenwood, she had a wide-ranging musical experience, including orchestra, marching band, flute ensemble, percussion ensemble, pep band and even pit orchestras for musicals, picking up additional instruments where needed.
At Sts. Joachim and Ann, fifth and sixth graders and seventh and eighth graders have combined band classes. With older students mentoring their younger peers, Kaatmann said it helps to build musicianship as well as leadership and confidence skills. But what excites her the most about teaching music in a Catholic school is the ability to incorporate faith into her work.
“I love the freedom to get to celebrate our faith through music,” she said. “That’s my favorite part about the liturgy — I love being at Mass and getting to hear the kids singing with their whole hearts. Last week, we did ‘Jesus Living Bread’ for the first time. We had to do it twice because we knew it was kind of long and it was new for them. So the first time they kind of sang it, and then the second time, it just felt like they prayed it instead of saying it.
“I get to teach all these awesome kids and these families,” Kaatmann said. “The people I work with are amazing. Everybody helps each other out. I get to teach a little bit of everything to every age level. And it never gets boring.”
Catholic school teachers participating in Extra Credit
- Molly Seiler, St. Gabriel the Archangel School in St. Louis
- Brett Klaus, St. Patrick School in Wentzville
- Sam Kaatmann, Sts. Joachim and Ann School in St. Charles
- Liz Foor, Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles
- Whitney Martin, Most Sacred Heart School in Eureka
Extra Credit concert
- WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, April 24
- WHERE: Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd. in St. Louis
- MORE INFO: The concert is free, and donations will be accepted. General admission tickets may be reserved at stlreview.com/48aMwdF. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the performance lasts about an hour. Seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
