Oral History Interview with Janis Siggard, October 21, 2024

This oral history interview is with Janis Siggard, a long-time piano teacher and music faculty member at the College of Eastern Utah, who discusses her and her husband Derral Siggard's four decades of contributions to music education in Carbon and Emery Counties, Utah, after moving there in 1959. She details her private piano teaching career, the formation of the local Utah Music Teachers Association (UMTA) chapter, and events like the Summer Piano Ensemble Clinic. The interview also highlights the highly successful Carbon High School Band, which performed at the Rose Parade and other events under the direction of Derral Siggard and Glen Fifield, as well as Siggard's long-standing role as the rehearsal accompanist for the annual production of Handel's Messiah. Siggard emphasizes the joy, community, and talent she found in the region, noting that many of her and Derral's students went on to become professional musicians.