2016 All-Star Teacher finalist Scott Krijnen

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Scott Krijnen
Orchestra
San Jose's Castillero Middle School

Scott Krijnen has taught orchestra at Castillero and Redwood Middle School for the past 11 years. Taking over two programs in 2005 with a total of 80 students, he currently works with over 550 musicians per day through nine classes, six at Castillero and three at Redwood as an after school program.

Over the past decade, Scott has had the good fortune to continue his craft as a cellist, conductor and teacher. He has soloed throughout the Bay Area, most recently with the Winchester Symphony and Silicon Valley Philharmonic. He is the conductor of the Cambrian Symphony and the orchestras at San Jose State University’s “Summer in the City,” and has also been a guest conductor with Saratoga High School and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. But most importantly, he continues his growth in the art of teaching and working with the citizens of tomorrow. Thanks to Dr. Cohen, Dr. Hollinger and many of the staff and faculty of San Jose State, Castillero has become a lab for young music educators to observe and work on their craft.

Mr. Krijnen believes that all students should have free and equal access to educational opportunities and has worked tirelessly with the community to help raise over $100,000 over the past 11 years to provide free instruments to every student who joins the orchestra programat Castillero. Because of such incredible community effort, Scott has been able to lead public school programs in which every student is able to attend every trip, every tour and every festival regardless of income or socioeconomic status. Under his leadership, the orchestras have garnered a widespread reputation for having students who are engaged, grateful and excited to learn. His students take pride in living by their motto, “It’s always your choice…..choose to be great."

Because of this spirit of learning, a vast array of guests visit and participate in the sharing of knowledge. His collaborations with Bay Area professionals, nationally acclaimed artists and institutions of higher learning have brought hundreds of guests into his classroom to observe, participate, lead, share or to perform. Guests include: Cypress String Quartet, Amaranth String Quartet, Sphinx Virtuosi, Philharmonia Baroque, Chamber Music By The Bay with Mr. Shiozaki, Mr. Hsu, Ms. Chang and Ms. Gaynon, Mr. Temkin, Professor DiGiacinto, Dr. Kim, Dr. Lin, Mr. Bensing, Professor McCullough, Ms. Clymer, Mr. Hoffer, Ms. Li, Dr. Laycock, Dr. Smith, Mr. Nakagoshi, Ms. Jan, Mr. Simon, Mr. Boitz, Ms. Makhijani, , Mr. Tagawa and more.

Scott is a Presser Scholar from the University of Idaho and earned his Masters in Cello Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music receiving the Chamber Music Award. He has toured Korea and Taiwan as part of the KAS Piano Trio and has performed and played with dozens of orchestras and chamber ensembles. In 2011, he was awarded Teacher of the Year at Castillero and in 2016, he has been named the Richard L. Levin Orchestra Educator of the year for the state of California.

Every day is a chance to be great and Scott gets to witness that each day with his incredible students, parents, colleagues and community. He is truly grateful for getting to share his love and joy for the arts with his students but more importantly, for helping students realize that they are the reason for their success.

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