By April Garon

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Cherish McCallum met with her voice student Falcom Greear as he practiced the Star Spangled Banner.

His voice filled the room while McCallum kept tempo by snapping her fingers.

The Dart landed on this session at McCallum’s home on Glenwood Drive Wednesday afternoon.

“Good”, McCallum said. “Now this time, go faster.”

During this lesson, Greear was 5,000 miles away in Homer, Alaska.

McCallum moved with her family from Homer to Natchez last fall and uses video-calling programs on her laptop to stay connected to her students.

“It’s one of the wonderful things about technology — it makes it less difficult to talk and work together,” McCallum said. “It doesn’t feel so far away.”

Transitioning from the bitter cold of Alaskan winters to the mild climate here wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be, McCallum said.

“We went from winters in the negative 40s to here where everything is still green,” McCallum said.

Natchez being an arts community similar to Homer made the move even easier, McCallum said.

She also said they are enjoying living somewhere less remote.

“The closest Walmart to Homer was two hours away,” McCallum said. “Here, it’s nice to have three different grocery stores.”

McCallum set her laptop down on the piano in her living room and played the notes to give her student the key of the song. Greear is preparing for a performance at Alaska’s governor’s picnic next week.

“Some days I’ll be cooking dinner, and have a student connected on my laptop at the same time,” McCallum said.

The voice coach and musical therapist uses music to teach a variety of skills and concepts.

“There is no better way to learn to communicate, share, and listen than to be in a rock and roll band,” McCallum said.