Ledyard choir director calls it a career
Russell Hammond oversaw renowned program for 16 years
Ledyard — He’s been described as an exacting teacher who can pull amazing performances out of his students and dispense life lessons that students remember decades later.
So for Ledyard High School, where about a third of the students are in a choral group, it was with some sadness that Russell Hammond announced he would retire at the end of this past school year. He had overseen the school’s renowned choral program for 16 years.
But over his 30-year career as a music teacher, he left his mark on Ledyard students and beyond, former students said, including his replacement, Melanie Cometa, the former choral director at Ella T. Grasso Tech and a student of Hammond during his first year at Ledyard.
Hammond grew up in the Midwest and moved to New York after school to pursue a career as an opera singer. But his original pursuits felt selfish to him.
It was when he began working with the choir at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, where his wife had a job, that he decided teaching might be the profession for him. Teaching was “a giving kind of job,” he said. He would go on to run the choral and drama programs there for 14 years.
Shane Valle, a student of Hammond's during his first year at Lyme-Old Lyme, said Hammond became a mentor. It was under Hammond's instruction that Valle would fall in love with theatre, after being cast as the lead in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“I can just remember that was kind of that life-changing moment,” Valle said of the experience.
Years later, when Valle was pursuing a career in acting, he ran into Hammond at a gas station. They got to talking and, right there, Hammond offered him his first directing role. That sent Valle down a path culminating in his career as director of theatre at Waterford High School.
“He was a pretty powerful guy ... also so humble,” Valle added.
In 2005, Dr. Jamie Spillane, who was a friend of Hammond and who had built Ledyard's choir program into an elite institution, approached Hammond. Spillane, who eventually would take over the University of Connecticut's choir, wanted someone to “keep the good ship Ledyard running,” as Hammond put it.
“I had high expectations (but) also knew I was probably the only person who could take over ... I was excited, I tried to put my own spin on the program,” Hammond said.
He fostered tight-knit choral groups, starting with summer camps for several of them, and expected a level of professionalism.
Hammond has no illusions about the discipline required to reach that level of professionalism, and is known for his high standards. He describes himself as an “old school, shut up you're going to do it right” kind of instructor.
“I've seen him hold a rehearsal where they'll literally do the same four measures over and over and over until ... he's pulling a level of vocal precision they didn't think they were capable of,” Ledyard High School Principal Amanda Fagan said.
Hammond's fondest memories of his career in Ledyard include bringing students to Europe to perform in medieval cathedrals to huge audiences, as well as putting on the musical “Les Misérables,” a three-anda-half-hour production requiring immense choreography, singing and technical skills.
“You never would have believed it was a high school performance,” Fagan said of the “Les Misérables” show. “For him to convince high school kids, through his own belief, that they had every right to put on Les Mis ... it was incredible to see that triumph for him.”
“In the moment it was perfect: the definition of perfection,” Hammond said.
His replacement, Cometa, said she's grateful for all of the experience and knowledge she gained from Hammond and going through Ledyard's choral program.
“I really learned what a good high school (choral) program looked like from Ledyard,” she said.
She said she would like to ensure that consistency when she starts as the director in the fall, hoping to embody the “proud past and bright future,” to quote an often-repeated slogan of Hammond.
As for Hammond, he will continue to break new mountain trails and run new races, hobbies he shares with his wife. And he'll find a “new opportunity to make a difference” and give back his talent as a musician and choral director.
“I've always wanted to retire young and still be healthy,” he said. “I wanted to be John Elway and not Brett Favre.”
“I’ve always wanted to retire young and still be healthy. I wanted to be John Elway and not Brett Favre.” RUSSELL HAMMOND