As a woman with a rich history who has turned her trauma into a wellspring of wisdom, Jana Webster-Wheeler, B.M.E. '00, has used her difficult experiences to teach so much more than music and enrich her community.
Ms. Webster Wheeler (Ms. Web to her students) is an activist and advocate with vulnerabilities shaped by a rough childhood. She is a teacher who shares stories that permit students to come to her about serious subjects. She welcomes conversations about death, racism, sexism, sexual orientation, and trauma. She embraces these moments with each student without judgment and guides them through middle school, when students become aware of the world's complex realities.
Students are growing emotionally and musically
CSU Music Education Coordinator Jessica Warner is the mother of a seventh grader at Webber Middle School. "As a mother of a trombone student, Jana's openness has made a huge impact on my son, who rarely shares many details about his day. He has brought to me stories of Ms. Web, who isn't afraid to talk about dealing with racism in her own life or examples of stereotypes and appropriation within society." Warner has also seen her son grow exponentially as a musician in Jana's band.
2024 Webber Bands: Play On!
In the past year, there have been many fights among students at Webber Middle School, and though Ms. Web hopes for a less tumultuous environment, she is working through it with her students and having difficult conversations.
After one altercation, Webster-Wheeler described the conversation. "How come so-and-so didn't get in any trouble? And so, we talked about that. If somebody hits you and you hit back, now you're in it. And I said, 'It takes a different kind of strength to walk away – to use the words first. And if that doesn't work, to abandon the situation. Is hitting back really worth getting a permanent record and a suspension?'"
Ms. Web's student agreed but wanted to know if she had ever been in a fight. "I said yes. And they were like, 'Did you start it? Did you get hit?' And I explained that I've been on both sides."
And she truly has. As a foster child and later being adopted, Ms. Web grew up in many different households in the roughest parts of Washington, D.C.
Applying experiences to her training and teaching
"I was in a gang in D.C. by the time I was 11 years old, and we're talking very, very real stuff with a lot of violence and something I'm still working through," she said. "There was a guy that I was talking to. He's like, have you forgiven yourself for that yet? I'm like, any day now. So, it's not something you want to strut. It's not something you're proud of or boastful of, but it's something to be honest about."
Ms. Web started as a music therapy major at CSU, a choice inspired by her adopted mother, who dealt with mental illness her entire life. The curriculum proved to be too close to what was still a very sensitive past, so she changed to Music Education. Though she changed her major, she still encourages her students to use their music as therapy.
"All of your angst gets to come out when you play," said Webster-Wheeler. "You don't have to explain it. You don't have to validate it. You get to play how you feel, and nobody is going to correct you. I urge you to lean into this feeling. And you're not going to be told that you're just young and it's too dramatic. This is where you get to be who you are."
Ms. Web also uses music to encourage empathy through the stories and characters portrayed in music and the feelings they evoke.
“I am not a person who typically likes flowers and lace and frills, but when I play Mozart, I pretend I do. I'll share a little story about Mozart not wanting to get his lace dirty because of the ink on his hands. But the majority of the time, my adoptive father raised me, and I identify better with things that are stereotypically masculine. So, I tell them that when they perform, they get to explore that different part of themselves, and pulling from that experience of being a performer leads to better empathy.”
Get to know Jana a little more through her "Top 10 Essentials!"
Giving back to the community
Ms. Web is on three boards: the Cindy Boomer Haraway Foundation, the GriffinHarte Foundation, and the Health and Wellness Community Orchestra. She loves what each organization stands for, and they challenge her in ways that being a teacher doesn't.
One of the most significant projects currently underway at the University Center for the Arts is the renovation of the Instrument Rehearsal Hall, funded by the Cindy Boomer Haraway Foundation. The renovation improves the acoustics for what will now be two distinct rooms, impacting rehearsals every day. Read more about the renovation.
"You know what I love," said Ms. Web. "I love that it works different areas of my brain; so when I'm talking with Cindy Boomer Haraway, what's in my brain is the local community, housing insecurity, music in the community, and the needs, especially with food or school districts. How do we anticipate the needs, and how does that foundation support that?"
With the Health and Wellness Community Orchestra board, Webster-Wheeler focuses on the excellent benefits of playing in an ensemble throughout life – from college through retirement – and the tremendous impact it can have on the psyche of a community.
The GriffinHarte Foundation was founded by Dr. Cindy Griffin, who taught for 23 years in CSU's Department of Communication Studies and has published books used by universities nationwide. The foundation promotes civil conversations about equity, fairness, identity, and other often divisive issues. Webster-Wheeler evaluates the GriffinHarte Foundation grant applications with intention.
"It's talking about things like, how do we look at the Latina community in this pocket of San Francisco," said Webster-Wheeler. "How do these artists express their art on a level that they can say their truth and their experience as Latin Americans in America in a place that is very diverse but maybe not always open to other ideas?"
CSU professors made the difference
Ms. Webster-Wheeler attributes her success with these significant roles and opportunities to the CSU teachers who made lasting impressions and emotional impacts, especially on the growing pains of being a music major. She remembers Dr. Bill Davis, the head of music therapy, for his kindness and encouragement, crying in Dr. Gary Moody's oral dictation class, and Will Schwartz, who took her under his wing and taught her to play professionally in a symphony orchestra.
Like her current pursuits, Webster-Wheeler was a catalyst for change during her undergraduate degree. She sent letters to the CSU administration encouraging a jazz program, an essentially American art form she felt should be a part of the school's pedagogy, and she started the first flute choir, now a staple of the flute studio.
One can only expect greatness as she continues her path of social service, nurturing her students as musicians and as humans who remember Ms. Web as someone who spoke her truth in a way that changed them.