Salem High School Band Director Marty Claussen Named Educator Of Year

SALEM, NH — Marty Claussen, a music teacher and the band director at Salem High School, has been named Educator of the Year by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem, the club announced last week.

Claussen and several other local award winners will be honored at the Annual Awards Celebration breakfast, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. on Nov. 3, at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem, located at 3 Geremonty Drive.

Claussen has been in his job as a music teacher and band director since 1992. He teaches music theory and other classes and works with the marching band and concert band.

"It is an honor to be recognized in this way, and I definitely want to stress that I am just a representative of a whole bunch of great teachers in the Salem School District who work very hard every day to ensure the success of Salem students," Claussen told Patch. "Salem is a great place to teach because the community is so supportive. Just the fact that the Boys & Girls Club gives out this award bears witness to this."

Over the past 30 years, Claussen's ensembles have played for presidents and marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Tournament of Roses Parade, Fiesta Bowl Parade and Citrus Bowl Parade, in addition to performing at numerous local events.

"These opportunities have brought a sense of pride, not just to the students who have participated, but to Salem High School and the Salem community at large," Julia Horaj, a former student of Claussen's who now is the choral director at SHS, told Patch.

But Claussen was quick to credit his students for those successes.

"Those students are the reason that I have this job in the first place and they really deserve all of the credit for what we have accomplished," Claussen said.

Not surprisingly, Horaj described Claussen as "extremely humble."

"Marty is incredibly kind and one of the wisest people I've ever met," Horaj said. "He has created a strong sense of community and family within his program."

Horaj continued: "It's common for students from years and decades gone by to come in and visit (Claussen) and reconnect. He is a trusted mentor to many present and former students. He is also an exceptional conductor, musician and educator with decades of successful concerts, town events, marching band field shows and musical pit orchestras."