{"id":44447,"date":"2017-04-11T15:41:58","date_gmt":"2017-04-11T19:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=44447"},"modified":"2017-04-13T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T15:05:00","slug":"juno-winner-conquers-classroom-by-day-studio-by-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/04\/juno-winner-conquers-classroom-by-day-studio-by-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Juno winner conquers classroom by day, studio by night"},"content":{"rendered":"

While her nights are spent crafting her next musical masterpiece, Diana Panton\u2019s days are spent moulding young minds at Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Juno award-winning artist, and Brock University alumna, performs a delicate balancing act between her time in the classroom and in the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadian jazz vocalist is a two-time Juno winner and five-time nominee, most recently taking home the 2017 Children\u2019s Album of the Year award for her latest studio release, <\/span>I Believe in Little Things<\/span><\/i>. She previously took home the Juno for Vocal Jazz Album in 2015 for <\/span>Red<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Panton (BEd ’04) takes great pride in her musical accomplishments, she also has a rewarding career as a French immersion drama and visual arts teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuelling the fire for both passions is no easy task, but one that is made manageable by good organizational skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI try to pass these skills along to my students and model for them how to keep themselves organized,\u201d Panton says. <\/span><\/p>\n

She tries to focus on music when school is out \u2014 during March Break, Christmas holidays and throughout the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that I don’t get much down time,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it is important for me to incorporate my music into my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Panton realized long ago she would have to learn to travel down both distinct paths simultaneously, with careers in teaching and music, in order to find herself fulfilled.<\/span><\/p>\n

She used that knowledge as motivation when she became a teacher candidate at Brock\u2019s Hamilton campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Panton found herself inspired by the \u201cwonderful community spirit that was fostered at Brock,\u201d which she feels endures years later in her new role as an alumna.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was recently seen, she says, when her former Brock French instructor Gail Phillips reached out to offer congratulations on the latest Juno win.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a touching gesture for Panton, who was inspired by Phillips\u2019 notion in the classroom that by making learning more fun, it is often more successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe showed us how to incorporate games and music into our lessons to make them more engaging,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

Panton credits Brock for helping her to learn \u201ca plethora of valuable techniques and strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe instructors were very caring and supportive,\u201d she says. \u201cThey helped build confidence, which is such an integral part of the learning process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoping to provide some inspiration of her own, Panton had some staunch advice for Brock students balancing more than one passion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there is a will there is a way,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are passionate about something, you will carve out the time and your passion will fuel you to do what you love. Remember that you do not need to follow in someone else\u2019s footsteps \u2014 this is your life and you can forge your own path, however unconventional it might be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Panton\u2019s music is available on <\/span>iTunes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While her nights are spent crafting her next musical masterpiece, Diana Panton\u2019s days are spent moulding young minds at Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":44448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,40,3319,1,4],"tags":[5165,5167,104,5166,5164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}