Fresh off of retirement, Todd Kendall is stepping into the role of director at St. John’s School of the Arts. Kendall, who previously served as band director for the Williamsport High School for 32 years, is ready to plunge headfirst into his new position.

“I’m very familiar with the school and its excellent reputation, and all of the faculty,” Kendall said. “They are just fantastic, and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

When previous Director Rebecca Ciabattari submitted her letter of recommendation, Kendall knew immediately this was the job for him, stating “I recently retired from the school district, and it just seemed like the perfect fit. Fortunately, I’m very familiar with the School of the Arts. My wife is the dance teacher there.”

“I was so fortunate to be the high school band director at Williamsport, as well as my career in elementary and middle school. It’s given me an opportunity to see what it’s like to teach individual lessons and small group lessons on wind and percussion instruments. So, I have a really good understanding of what we’re asking our teachers to do. I also am fortunate to have just been involved in the music community here in Williamsport. So, walking into the position, knowing all of the instructors already at some level is really helpful.

“And we have such an excellent faculty, just excellent experience, all of them involved in our community for quite some time. Many are involved with the Williamsport Symphony, as well as being previous educators in the school system. My experience with the school district really lends itself to stepping right into a position like this,” Kendall said.

“St. John’s School of the Arts has a really unique niche in our community,” Kendall said. “There’s so much appreciation in our community, for the arts and for the performing arts. So many of our local schools, particularly in the Williamsport school district, do such a phenomenal job of producing excellent performances and excellent instruction, and just a really great curriculum. And so, the niche that St. John’s fills is that it provides a similar instruction, but on a more individual basis, with individual lessons on instruments, stringed instruments, and wind instruments, as well as instruction on things like ballroom dancing and and then of course, in the dance program, and that instruction is is provided with a Christian ethic.”

“Since it’s a private school, and it can be focused on a specific idea,” Kendall continued, “the Christian ethic is what makes it so unique and fits a niche that few other places would offer. So with over 200 students involved in instruction with that Christian ethic, we think that it really gives families an opportunity to allow their family members, and particularly children and youth, as well of course as adults, the opportunity to dance, sing, play in an environment that has that Christian ethic.”

One of Kendall’s chief goals is to bring the level of public performances back to pre-pandemic level.

“Well, we’re all still coming out of the years that we dealt with COVID, where it was difficult to have a program like St. John’s School of the Arts to be able to function in the way that works best,” Kendall said. “We’re looking forward to growing the School of the Arts, both in numbers of students and faculty members, but also its range of performing for the community. One of the wonderful pieces of the Christian ethic part of our mission is that it gives us great opportunities for our students to be able to perform in local churches and at local events representing that Christian ethic, so I believe that seeing the School of the Arts performing more in public and locally is definitely going to be one of the things that we try to have happen as soon as possible. We’d also like to see more ballroom dancing happening.”

“And, we’re working on getting our 501c3 status. So it’s kind of exciting to be at this really neat transition for the school,” he added

And while Kendall will be steering the ship going forward, he is grateful for the work of the former director in keeping the school afloat through the severe COVID years.

“Our previous director, Becky Ciabattari, really did a phenomenal job of getting the organizations through the COVID years. She has everything set up to move forward,” he said. “So honestly, it’s not like I have to come in and do anything new and different, just continue the excellent work that she set up.”

“I’ve received a lot of congratulations, as well as an excitement to know that the School of the Arts will once again have a director that is passionate about seeing it succeed,” Kendall said about becoming director, “and it seems like people are really happy about knowing that things will continue the way they have been done.”

Board President Barry Rake echoed the sentiment.

“He’s got a passion for music and the arts, so we think he’s just the right fit for the mission. He brings so much to the table, not only his passion for music and arts, but also his experience of being a band director. He knows what it took to operate the Williamsport high school band, which of course, I would say would not be an easy job. With his connections and knowledge, he knows how to get things done in the community,” Rake said. “He’s just going to be a tremendous asset to us.”

Kendall is equally complimentary of the board, stating, “the board of directors is really passionate about making the School of the Arts something very special in our community, which it already is, but making it even more present.”

The Saint John’s School of Arts Dance Ensemble will hold a performance, titled “Heroes and Villains,” on Friday at 5 and 7 p.m., at St John’s United Methodist Church in Newbury. The theme will feature interpretations ranging from “Cruella Deville,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Lorax” and more. Tickets are $5 for those five years and up, and are available through the school’s Facebook page.

For registration information for classes or individual lessons, visit schoolofthearts.susumc.org, or St. John’s Facebook page.