KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the Carter High Alumni Choir have been practicing for a special concert set for Oct. 20 during the high school's home game against Fulton.
In August 2023, 10News was contacted by a former choir student of Dr. Sonny Melton, a long-time teacher at Carter High School. The former student said the choir was trying to honor "his tireless music career and teaching."
So on a fall evening, WBIR ventured out to Strawberry Plains in East Knoxville to see the Alumni Choir practice with Dr. Melton at the lead. While the teacher and students may be older, they are still able to hit all the right notes.
Dr. Melton started teaching at Carter over 30 years ago. He originally planned to stay for only a few years.
"I came to stay three or four years and get a little experience and move on," Dr. Melton said. "Thirty-one years later, I retired. The community was good. the students were good, the faculty and students were good. I had complete freedom to do what I wanted to."
During his time at Carter, Dr. Melton estimates he taught around 3,000 students. Many of them remain his friends to this day. One of them, Beth Hirsch, continues to be one of his most vocal supporters.
"He's such a good teacher," said Beth. "He gets so excited about what he's teaching. He hears this music in his head before he tells us what we're going to sing. We don't get to perform it until it's right."
The Alumni Choir will perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the Carter High Alma Mater at the school's home game on Oct. 20, 2023.
"What we're hoping to do is get kids excited again," Hirsch said. "Even for us old folks (excited) about singing in the schools, it's a way for kids to express themselves in school."
For Sonny Melton, the Alumni Choir has proven to be pitch-perfect in every way.
"They were my students, now they're my friends," Melton said. "This has been a wonderful experience for me. I think they come because they want to ... I didn't give them a grade this time but they'd all get an 'A' if I did."