Voice, Piano, Guitar
Blake Mechtel has been a music educator since 2016 and has received training in classical pedagogy with a specialty in contemporary music making. Blake has taugh numerous students over the years learning piano, voice, guitar and ukulele. In addition to private lesson students he has taught in two different public school systems and founded and ran a collegiate a cappella group. In those years he has rehearsed and performed 10 different ensembles and held clinics with 8 different high school and collegiate ensembles.
Blake's love for music started as a very young child singing along to early 2000's artists on the radio such as Beyonce, Usher, Brittney Spears and many others which fostered his love for singing and performing. This early passion for singing landed him in the music department at Canon McMillan School District in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania for 9 years. He participated in choir all 9 years, sang in all of the select ensembles and played as leads in multiple musical productions. He auditioned for, and was selected for, multiple honor choir festivals, district festivals and region choir festivals.
After high school, he decided to pursue a degree in Music Education at Duquesne University located in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. At Duquesne University he was a member of their NAfME chapter and their auditioned touring ensemble, the Voices of Spirit. In addition to his high academic success he founded Duquesne University's premiere contemporary a cappella group "Mic Drop." In Blake's 4 years of managing the group they competed in three different competitions, attended multiple festivals and hosted a cappella invitationals. He also arranged most of the music they performed, ran all of the rehearsals and booked gigs, fundraisers and other events for the ensemble. Since his departure in 2020, the group is still thriving and performing in the community. Blake finished school in 2020 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, Magna Cum Laude.
Post graduation, Blake moved to Rutland, Vermont to work in the Rutland City Public School system. During his time there he re-developed the vocal and general music program at the high school. He created multiple after school a cappella groups, created new music electives for all students in the school population and re-introduced the vocal ensembles to the Rutland Community and Vermont as a whole. Blake served as department chair for Fine Arts grades 7-12 and helped start up clubs like "Justice For All" and "Volleyball Club." Blake decided to depart Rutland City Public Schools in 2023 to pursue a new job opportunity in the state of Colorado.
Blake moved to Denver, Colorado in August of 2023. He now teaches at Clear Creek Middle/High School RE-1 serving as the Director of Vocal and General Music & Youth Connections Coordinator. He currently teaches multiple vocal ensembles, general music classes, directs vocals for the musical and helps create events and initiatives to improve the schools climate and culture. He is excited to begin his next chapter as a music teacher in Colorado and he hopes to share his experiences with your students!