Richland One’s Induction Teacher of the Year Julia Turner makes music relatable for students

Think about your favorite song and why you love it. Is it because of the rhythm, the melody or the lyrics?

In music teacher Julia Turner’s classes at A.C. Moore Elementary School, students are learning more than just the basics of music. They’re applying those lessons to their favorite songs.

“I want students to see a part of them in music class,” said Turner, who is in her second year teaching at A.C. Moore and Richland One.

The district’s 2024-2025 Induction Teacher of the Year grew up in Kingston, New York, where she was involved in church and community choirs and played the clarinet in band. When she was in high school, Turner became a marching band section leader. She says that inspired her to go into music education.

“I was realizing how much I enjoyed teaching my peers and how much I liked teaching the music that we were playing. It was really awesome,” she said.

Turner attended the State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) for her undergraduate degree in music education. She says she initially had plans to become a band director. However, after taking an elective course in early childhood education during her first year of college, Turner says she realized she was meant to become an elementary school music teacher.

“I was in a room with four-year-olds and I was like ‘This rocks. This is awesome,’” she said.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 2021, Turner moved to Columbia to get her master’s degree in early childhood and elementary music education from the University of South Carolina. While taking graduate courses, she met and became friends with A.C. Moore’s orchestra teacher, who convinced her to apply for the music teacher position at the school. Turner says she immediately felt at home while touring A.C. Moore.

“A.C. Moore was just so vibrant and homey. It was covered in student-made art, and it just felt really welcoming. As an arts teacher, seeing a school that was plastered in student art and showcasing all the artistic parts of the school, I immediately bought in with that,” she said.

Turner loves to incorporate popular music into her lessons. One way she does that is by allowing students to submit song suggestions in a folder she has in her classroom. Turner will take a song suggestion and use it to teach her students music concepts.

She has also organized a March Madness-like bracket with music, taking not only student-suggested songs but also songs requested by some of the teachers at A.C. Moore.

“I love seeing the students lit up by songs that they already know and knowing that I can help them get a deeper understanding of those songs,” said Turner. “I’m making music feel like an accessible part of their day and tying it into the things students already care about.”

Second-grade through fifth-grade students in Turner’s classes learn how to play different instruments including drums, xylophone, keyboard and ukulele. When students hit fourth and fifth grades, Turner encourages them to express their creativity through group projects. Using their knowledge of music theory and the instrumental skills they’ve learned, fourth-grade students are tasked with creating a cover of a song while fifth-grade students get to write their own songs.

“It was really awesome to see the students tie in the instrumental techniques that they learned and use it to actually write something unique to them,” said Turner.

Turner also plays an active role in exposing students to music outside of class. She oversees A.C. Moore’s chorus and modern band ensemble. Last year, Turner directed a short musical for kindergarten through second-grade students to participate in.

“The students got a chance to be on stage and perform for one of the first times in their lives and that was really great,” she said.

One of the highlights of Turner’s first year at A.C. Moore was the school’s “Secret Garden Showcase” talent show, where students performed different acts on a new stage built outside the school. Turner’s modern band students served as the event’s house band, and she even organized a faculty band to serve as the finale.

“The event was just so much fun and rewarding. It was really awesome day to make music and a really cool moment for our community,” said Turner.

She says she wants students who take her class to embrace music and not be afraid to express themselves.

“I want students to come out of my class feeling empowered to make whatever music they want to make or listen to whatever music they want to listen to,” said Turner.