Josh Gresko, choral director at Northern High School, is the recipient of the 2017 Pat Carpenter Arts Educator Award from the Calvert Arts Council. The award is given annually to an outstanding arts educator in Calvert County, Maryland.
Mr. Gresko has taught in Calvert County Public Schools for seven years and served as the Northern High choral teacher since 2012. His choirs have consistently received superior ratings in county and state choral assessments on both performances and sight reading, and his students routinely excel in All-County, All-State, and prestigious All-Eastern competitions. His chamber choir is of particular note, as the singers perform grade VI music, which is at the collegiate/professional level.
Outside of his classroom responsibilities, Mr. Gresko adjudicated Senior All-State Chorus auditions for the Maryland Choral Educators Association, adjudicated district performance festivals in Maryland, and presented at the Maryland Music Educators Association annual state conference on choral music. His primary goal, he said, “is to provide students with the opportunity to accomplish something exceptional, something of which they can be proud.”
In addition to his skill as a classroom teacher, Mr. Gresko is lauded for his ability to develop relationships with students and families. Jessica Valadie, Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts, said, “When talent meets interpersonal skills, that’s when the sparks really start to fly in the classroom – and for those reasons, Northern High School has an amazing choral program to offer students.”