MAY 12 • 2022 | 41

continued from page 39

also been difficult, he explains,
which has impacted many
music programs nationwide. In
addition to the challenges that
mask-wearing poses for playing
certain musical instruments,
like wind instruments, teach-
ing remotely and holding vir-
tual band classes wasn’t always
easy.
Often, teaching throughout
COVID-19 required figuring
things out with little notice or
on a whim. Yet Posner confirms
that overcoming the challenges
was well worth the reward.
“Seeing the students’ growth
is really rewarding for me,
”
he says. “Getting to see them
mature from a freshman to a
senior and hopefully go beyond
that and perform in their col-
lege ensemble is tremendously
rewarding.
”
Posner’s effort and dedica-
tion haven’t gone unnoticed. In
2020, he was named a quarter-
finalist for the Grammy Teacher
of the Year, which honored
some 100 or so music educators
across the country. Grammy
Music Educator Awards are
a high honor offered by the

Grammy Foundation that help
recognize educators who have
made a significant and lasting
contribution to the field of
music education.
“That was a nice honor,
”
Posner says.
While music plays an unde-
niably major role in his life
and his hobbies, Posner is also
passionate about sports. He
plays hockey in his spare time
and enjoys watching sports with
friends and family.
Posner also loves to travel
and is looking forward to his
family’s summer trip to South
Haven, where he’ll spend time
with his wife, Michelle, and two
children, Asher, 5, and Owen, 3.
Michelle, who plays flute,
performs with Alan at Temple
Beth El’s Music Shabbat. With
music as such an integral part
of his personal and family life,
Posner says music (and teach-
ing music) is a natural fit that
he plans to pursue long-term.
“I just love teaching,
” he says.
“I want to keep my students
performing at a high level and
challenging them to be their
best and play their best.
”

Members of
Klezundheit

synagogue and had his own
bar mitzvah.
As he got older, Jason
joined a Jewish-based frater-
nity in college: AEPi. Jason
says while he doesn’t actively
practice the Jewish faith, he
keeps it close to his heart. “It
was important when Mandy
and I were getting married
to have a rabbi as the offi-
ciant because I wanted to
bring some of that in,” he
said. “But with my wife not
being Jewish, we wanted to
also bring in little elements
of her Catholic faith. We
were able to find the perfect
balance and mix of both,
where both sides of the fam-
ily got to learn more about
her faith and more about
Jewish traditions.”
Rabbi Tamara Kolton
married the couple. “Getting
to introduce my wife to the
Jewish religion means so
much to me,” he said.
With a baby on the way,

Jason says they decided to
teach their child about both
religions, “so the little one
will get full Jewish culture.”
Jason said he’s excited to
be able to do some of the
same things he did through-
out his career in this new
chapter of his life. “I still get
to be creative and incorpo-
rate storytelling. My focus is
video so it’s literally the same
thing,” he said.
“I get to tell stories about
the students, teachers, the
superintendent, the educa-
tion system and highlight
what they’re doing, but in
essence, it’s an opportunity
to do the same thing just in
a different venue.”
Jason said he’s excited to
get to know and work with
his new team and become
more involved with the com-
munity. He would eventually
like to coach lacrosse in the
Walled Lake community.

TOP: Jason on the sidelines coaching the 14U team for Grand
Blanc Youth Lacrosse, where he’s also the director of Youth
Development. ABOVE: Jason talking to one of his players on a
snowy day while coaching the Flint Tropics Lacrosse fall ball team.