The musician

Legendary Mac math teacher owes his love of music to his choir teacher who took him on a field trip that changed his life

Riley Pita, Mac photojournalism

July 2, 2024

This is Paul Pew’s high school graduation photo. The 2023-2024 school year marked his 34th year of teaching. He began his career in Washington, then came to McCallum where he has taught for the past 17. At heart though, he’s really a musician. One that grew up in many different places, including Chicago and California, who took interest in teaching from a young age. His high school choir experience, along with some international singing in college, persuaded him that teaching was his path. He knew he wanted to be able to help create works of art in the fine arts department as well, so he joined McCallum. He’s worked on many of the musicals over the years, even before Joshua Denning, the former theatre director of the fine arts program arrived. Before him was a different director: Tatum. “I was the music director for all the musicals,” Pew said. “[Mr. Tatum and I] worked very hard, and I just got to the point where I was satisfied with it.” Although he may not be as prominent of a member in the musical theatre community at McCallum anymore, he still plays piano. “I still do a lot of music down at the Music end of the building,” Pew said. Photo courtesy of Paul Pew.

Dave Winter

As part of the Teach Your Passion in-service at Mac in 2020, math teacher Paul Pew shared his love of music by playing a piano recital of favorite songs by Chopin, Debussy, Joplin and Bach. He said to the teachers in his class that music is basically math because both disciplines depend so heavily on pattern recognition.

The day he walked into the riser-filled room, he knew this was where he belonged.

Over 1,000 miles away in Austin, Minn., was a musician. He developed his piano skills and singing in junior high. But he didn’t feel the spark until now.

He felt it. Among the choralists, all together. But every person was still unique. His friend, Al, made him see that. Everyone was working together in perfect harmony.

Paul Pew had been moving around for some time. He had discovered snow for the first time in the suburbs of the Windy City when he was 8. But he found his passion in Northern California in his high school choir class.

His music teacher took him to go to a University: Chapman. He watched and listened to their choir’s music in awe. From that moment, he decided he would go there. He had to study music there.

“I didn’t apply to any other schools,” he says.

So he did. He studied music and mathematics at the college. He joined the choir. They were invited to go sing at the Bartok School of Music. It was in Hungary, a communist country then. Still, they went.

They found a composition of their national anthem. They walked into the room filled with guards and machine guns. They filled it with the country’s beautiful song. On their second phrase, the audience stood.

“The people were weeping,” he says.

It wasn’t until the next day at the airport that they knew why. The song had been outlawed since 1956. No one was allowed to sing it. But they did. They were not punished.

So, why has he been a math teacher for 17 years at McCallum?

Because: “There was a math position open, and I thought it would be a good fit for me,” he says.