Meet Mr. Sarten

Hello Hawks (and Hawks-to-be)!

My name is Jason Sarten(he/him/his). I joined the faculty of William Hopkins Jr. High School in the fall of 2022 and serve as Director of Instrumental Music as well administrating the Music at Hopkins Elementary Music programs. I hold a bachelor of music from Abilene Christian University where I studied applied voice and a masters degree in music from Baylor University, where I studied applied voice and instrumental conducting.

In between degrees I taught band for the Albany (TX) school district, teaching high school, junior high, 6th grade and 5th grade bands along with kindergarten music. After completing my MM at Baylor I taught band at McLennan Community College and private voice at University of Mary Hardin Baylor. I also conducted performances of La Boheme, Le Nozze di Figaro and Yeoman of the Guard.

After moving to the Bay Area in 2003 I worked as a professional singer with companies such as San Francisco Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Lamplighters Music Theatre as well as with numerous orchestras and concert organizations. I was also fortunate to be a part of the chorus used at Skywalker Ranch in Marin, recording soundtracks to many video games and movies.

Even while singing professionally working with students was a priority for me. In addition to working as a teaching artist with the San Francisco Opera Guild, I served as stage director for Lamplighters Music Theatre, staging Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado at dozens of Bay Area elementary and junior high schools using mostly student actors and singers.

After teaching band and orchestra at Mission San Jose in the spring semester of 2022, I enrolled in the credentialing program at CSU East Bay to complete my pivot back to teaching full time. I am thrilled to be at Hopkins and find joy every day in my students, their families and my colleagues.

Music was not my passion for much of my youth. I sang in my church choir and played an instrument in the school band but I didn’t participate out of a drive for excellence or a desire to be the best. I was in those groups to be with my friends and because I found music fun. After an accident on a horse landed me in a cast for ten months I became more focused on music as a discipline, earning membership in both the Texas All State Band and the Texas All State Choir. As an adult I had amazing experiences singing with some of the best musicians in the world and traveled much of the globe to do it. Whatever the motivation at a given point in my life, making music with others has always been an act of connection, both to myself and to my community.

So why do I teach? I believe every person has inherent dignity and worth. It is often more difficult to recognize this in ourselves than it is to acknowledge it in others. I believe an education that teaches young people to both be competent and to have tangible ways to measure that competence is vital to them developing healthy self esteem and positive self concepts. Music is an excellent medium in which to develop those skills, as well as encouraging both individual and group responsibility and accountability. I look forward to supporting my students in their pursuit of finding community, of achieving excellence in music and in every task they undertake.