What Claude Masear can do with a strings instrument can leave a person awestruck. A member of the Huntington School District’s faculty since 1993, the veteran educator is a legitimate music maestro with the ability to play multiple instruments in spectacular fashion.
A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts located at Amsterdam Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets in Manhattan, not far from Lincoln Center, Dr. Masear’s alma mater was popularized in the major motion picture and later television series, Fame.
After beginning his studies with violinist Margaret Pardee at the Julliard pre-college division, Dr. Masear went on to obtain undergraduate (with honors) and graduate degrees at City University of New York – Brooklyn College, where he studied violin performance with Masao Kawasaki and was a frequent performer in the Maestro Itzhak Perlman master classes.
A National Board certified music teacher, he also holds state certifications as a school district administrator and district business administrator. He is also credentialed in educational computing.
The longtime Huntington faculty member earned a doctorate in education degree as a scholarship student at Columbia University’s Teacher College. He has presented at the Balanced Mind Conference at LIU-Post.
Serving as a conductor of both the Brooklyn and Queens borough-wide middle school orchestras, Dr. Masear led performances at Carnegie Hall. He has chaired the Suffolk County Music Educator Association’s All-County festivals and conducted the Suffolk County and Westchester All-County festivals.
Dr. Masear currently teaches classroom music at Jefferson and Flower Hill Schools and directs the sixth grade orchestra at Woodhull Intermediate School and Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School. He also assists in orchestra lessons at Flower Hill and the STEM school.
A regular volunteer at school and PTA related events, Dr. Masear enjoys performing alongside his students.
“Claude has musically inspired the students of Huntington for over twenty years,” said Eric Reynolds, district director of fine and performing arts. “Moreover, his warmth and caring for each individual student is above and beyond.”
Even after more than two decades on Huntington’s faculty, Dr. Masear’s wide-ranging talents still come as somewhat of a surprise when students, their parents and his faculty colleagues watch and hear him play at length.
“Claude’s musical arrangements, including HUFSD Blues, can be heard throughout all of the district’s concert halls,” Mr. Reynolds said. “He does tremendous job in delivering a variety of musical styles to his students from jazz and improvisation to folk fiddling to classical. A respected pedagogue and performer, Claude is a valued and trusted staff member that has made up the fabric of this department.”
