Massaponax High School

8201 Jefferson Davis Hwy – Fredericksburg, VA 22407

Ph |540.710.0419| Fax|540.658.6855
Symphonic and Concert Orchestras

February 10, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing this recommendation on the behalf of Hannah Gould. She is a Cellist/Music Education Major from
James Madison University, a school highly esteemed for both its music and education programs. Hannah has
been a pleasure to work with as her cooperating teacher here at Massaponax High School. Hannah has been
working with my Concert Orchestra classes (of which there are 3, and all unique with their needs) as well as my
advanced group, Symphonic Orchestra. I co-teach our Symphonic Band Class and also teach A.P. Music theory,
so she has also had experience in those environments as well.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that even though she was a cellist, she started playing the violin, and stayed
with that for a long time before switching to cello. This means her knowledge of how each of the string
instruments work and how to play them will be better than most candidates that you will find straight out of
college. With this knowledge, she is able to both communicate AND demonstrate on all the instruments – which
in my opinion is very crucial for teaching. You can talk the talk, but you need to be able to demonstrate/model
what you are asking musically, or even technically for your students. Most times, words are just not enough. A
simple demonstration goes a long way.
Hannah is also very motivated and happily does the necessary prep and research for all of the pieces she’s
teaching to give her students the best possible experience and learning environment. She is super nice, kind,
flexible, and willing to do whatever it takes to enable student success. I was very impressed with all of the James
Madison University’s student teaching projects that Hannah had to complete as part of her placement. While it
seemed like some of it was a bit over-the-top, it was all relevant to what she would have to do in a real-world
experience when she’s out there on her own.
Hannah has been here every day without complaint and has communicated well verbally or email any
questions or suggestions on music or a project that she was working on. She’s not afraid to ask for guidance, and
handles constructive criticism extremely well (which I feel is important!) Hannah has made lots of progress in
her student teaching with me and I can assure you that she would be a great asset to any school division. She is
extremely self-motivated and is the type of personality that aims to please others. To that end, I give Hannah
Gould my highest recommendation and I wish her the best of luck in all her endeavors.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

James Forry
Director of Orchestras
Spotsylvania County Schools
Massaponax High Shool
540.710.0149 ext. 2524
jforry@spotsylvania.k12.va.us