“To quote Jerry Garcia, ’what a long, strange trip it’s been.’” Music Teacher Ted Whalen didn’t expect to spend 31 years teaching here. He thought he’d be here for just a few months: he interviewed for what was originally a sabbatical replacement. But, “by the time they got to the final interviews, it had changed… to a full-time position,” he stated. Though he had previously taught some private music lessons, Mr. Whalen discovered his passion, not just for teaching, but for Milton as a whole. “I had two young children who had been born in ’91 and ’94… Once they started school, I certainly didn’t want to leave… When I was growing up, I barely knew places like this existed. I grew up in a town that, at that point in time, had very few people who had even been to college… For my children to have had the chance to do this was really wonderful for me.”
“I was in a somewhat unique position of being able to teach my own children,” Mr. Whalen reflected. “One year I actually had both of them in the same class, which made for some fun moments… At one point in time, my daughter, who was the older one, said, ’Dad, is it a coincidence that whenever Zach and I have been fighting in the morning, that when we come to class, you set up our binders so that we’re sitting right next to one another?’ And I said, ’it’s taken you this long to figure that out?’… That was great fun because most people don’t get a chance to have their children in their class.”
Though his son graduated fourteen years ago, Mr. Whalen decided to stay here: “it seemed natural to stay on. It’s been fun!” His passion continues to inspire his students. “Mr. Whalen is just a phenomenal teacher,” said Miltones Co-Head Teddy Choe ’26. “I’ve had him for both Miltones and Chamber Singers, and in both cases, he’s been extremely dedicated. He always puts the group first above his own interests and I really admire that about him… He’s the one that brings everything together, and that’s what I really appreciate about what he’s done the past four years.”
Looking back on his 31 years at Milton, he noticed that “some of my favorite memories are the unexpected ones.” He recalled “Showing up the day before I went on sabbatical… and all of the members of the Chamber Singers had made t-shirts that said I ‘heart’ Ted… And I walked into class, and they were all sitting there with them. And I just stood there for a while, and I finally said, ’it takes a lot to shut me up. But you’ve managed to do it.’”
He also emphasized the power of music. “Once we went to Hawaii for a tour. We went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. And I pulled the group aside and I said, I want to sing something. And there were a couple of people who weren’t sure about it… And I said, ’trust me on this.’ And we sang a little Latin motet. And a lot of people, including several veterans, came up to the students at the end and talked to them about how much [the music] meant. Little moments like that where you find out that something simple can mean such a huge amount to people.”
Mr. Whalen is far from done making music. He said that, in his retirement, “I’m going to spend a lot of time composing. I developed a real passion for composition over the last 20, 25 years. I had always done it, but not as seriously as I do now. And I’ve been very lucky in that when I’ve had people either commission or perform things of mine, I have gotten really good feedback. And a lot of people have made comments like ’your music should be heard,’ which always made me feel, both excited and humbled.”
To the Milton community, he leaves these pearls of wisdom: “Follow what’s inside you. Don’t always be led by your head. Let your heart make decisions sometimes. For the most part, people know when those times are. But they don’t necessarily trust themselves enough to do it… Don’t forget to feed your soul as well as your brain… As much as you plan for the future, live in the present. Take advantage of it.”