Choral teacher and musical director John Lampe will be retiring this year. He started teaching in public schools in the spring of 1985 in an elementary school in Fairfield. The following year, he received the job at The Morgan School as the choral director.
Mr. Lampe attended the University of Hartford at Hart School of Music, where he received his Bachelors degree. He took many courses at other schools as well. He then attended Sacred Heart University for his Master’s degree. Along with his American schooling, he studied Chamber Music in Munich, Germany.
Mr. Lampe has been doing musicals since 1978. He has directed and produced many musicals at Morgan, but he has also run a program through Park and Rec called “Clinton Family Theatre” since1989. He did his first production in the Eliot cafeteria/cafeteria. The first show was Oliver! Which was a success. They then started performing at the Clinton Town Hall. His first show through this program was high school and younger, but the second show was more adults.
The peak of his Park and Rec program was 1995-2010. There were lots of people involved. It was so popular that people would have to be involved in three or four musicals before they got a part to go on stage.
Outside of school, Mr. Lampe loves to play the flute, traveling, and riding his bike. He plans to continue these hobbies in his retirement. He wants to spend more time traveling, spending more of his year in Germany to experience and further his love of the language and the culture.
Many staff members admire his work. Spanish Teacher and Mr. Lampe’s former student Karla Rivadeneira said, “He always saw the potential in me when I did not see it myself. He pushed me to be the best and guided me to be the best performer I could be. I spent so much time after school practicing for regional and all states. I would have not made it to all states without him.” She then said, “when I was a junior, I was the only one from Morgan selected.” She said he prepared her for all her musical and leading roles in musicals such as Anything Goes and Hello Dolly. She said they worked well together and has known him since she was eight or nine through summer shows. She hopes he does well traveling and continues his passion of music.
Personally, I would like to thank Mr. Lampe for the opportunities he has given me and the push for me to learn and be successful. Many other students would like to share their thanks:
“When I first joined chorus, I didn’t know if it would be good or bad. But working with Lampe to make me a better singer and dancer, I’ve never had so much fun to work with a group of people and a director like him. All he has taught, all the memories, all the quotes. He has inspired me to join an a cappella group at Colby.” – Senior Jack Nye
“My grandfather, Mr. Lampe is my biggest role model. He’s helped me and so many other of my classmates grow in theater and real life. He has believed in us way more than any other teacher at Morgan has. I am so glad I am graduating when he retires because I don’t think the music department will ever be the same because he touched so many lives.” – Senior Eileen Whittel
“I always had an admiration for the way that he always wanted students to be involved and participate in music because it really is such a wonderful thing for people to experience, and I think he really understood that and wanted people to express themselves” – Sophomore Lexi Kinniburgh
“Mr. Lampe convinced me to stick with performing and singing after middle school, which is the reason I still do it today.” – Sophomore Will Scoppa
“Mr. Lampe let me have a new perspective on school, and I will always be grateful for what he has done for me this year.” – Senior Dillon Moore
