Kyle Cook never thought he’d work with middle schoolers.
But for nearly 15 years, that’s where he’s been, teaching students choir, honing their skills and giving them a voice.
At Western Branch Middle, where he’s taught for nine years, he’s grown the school’s choir program from 60 to more than 200 students and launched a musical theater program. He’s the director of The Outer Banks Chorus, an all-ages community ensemble.
His passion for teaching music led him to be selected as one of the 30 teachers from around the U.S. to be part of the 2026 class of the Country Music Association Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence.
“I still don't think I believe it. It's still surreal,” Cook said. “It makes you really proud of what you do, it makes you realize that on the bad days, it still matters.”
A career that ‘made sense’
Cook grew up in Bellaire, Ohio, across the river from Wheeling, West Virginia. He was a music kid, signing up for band in fifth grade and, later, joining choir and theater. He never let go of it, even when it came time to choose a career.
“I saw how my music teachers made me feel, as a part of these things. I saw that my music teachers really brought these people of so many different backgrounds together,” Cook said. “I saw how transformative that was and how unifying it was.”
Cook always thought he would work with elementary or high school students. When it came time to student teach, he was paired with a middle school teacher, Joyce Jingle. She taught him to love middle school.
“Every day is a new adventure,” Cook said. “Middle school is where you see them change the most. You see them from, as a sixth grader, a very beginner, to when they leave you in eighth grade; you see this totally different kid.”
Middle school is when students can discover what they like and explore different opportunities, said Western Branch Middle Principal Beth Pallister. When they choose choir, Pallister sees the transformation that Cook helps foster.
“We have a lot of students that enroll in his class in sixth grade who just grow tremendously,” she said. “They don't identify in sixth grade as a singer or a musician, but by the time they leave here, they are firmly ensconced as a musician.”
An affirming recognition
Pallister said that Cook sets the bar high for his students and helps them to reach it. He chooses programming that highlights students’ skills and will keep them engaged. For the end-of-year program, students performed Disney songs.
Emma Nicolas, who finished eighth grade, has always loved to sing and wanted to expand her vocal abilities. Ishaan Bhende, who finished seventh, joined the choir after his older brother worked with Cook.
When Emma tried out for honor choirs, Cook helped.
“He's always given me tips on how to expand my vocal agility and he's never given up on me,” she said. “He's always continued helping me get into things, which has helped me get into multiple honor choirs and GSA," referring to the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk.
Cook is patient with students and encourages them to grow, Ishaan said.
“He will always put effort into all the work that he does,” he said. “When I tried out for a solo, and I wasn’t the most comfortable with it because this was sixth grade, my first one, he just really helped me get over my nerves and really helped me practice and do it to the best of my ability.”
Making music accessible to students is one of the reasons Cook deserved to be recognized as a CMA Foundation Music Teacher of the Year, Pallister said.
She and other school leaders spent about two weeks working with the CMA Foundation on the perfect surprise. They let his husband, Timothy Price, who also works at Western Branch, in on the secret.
Price ensured Cook dressed nicely for school the day of the surprise under the guise of district visitors stopping by and he FaceTimed Cook’s family when the big moment came.
Cook, who was one of 200 finalists, said he had given up on the award. When Pallister and others walked into his classroom, he was floored.
With the recognition comes a $5,000 stipend. Half will go toward replacing the sound shells at the Western Branch Middle auditorium, Cook said. The other half, Cook said, he’ll use for professional development.
In October, Cook will travel to Nashville to meet with the other Music Teachers of the Year for training and a celebration.
The recognition proves to Cook that music in schools is not an extra. It reinforces a point he tells other professionals at conferences: music education matters.
“You are not just the music teacher, you are the reason kids come to school,” Cook said he tells educators. “What you're teaching goes far beyond the notes on the page.”
Chesapeake Public Schools is a member of the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, which holds WHRO’s license.
