UPDATED: L-W East Music Department Head, Choral Director Resign

• UPDATE (12:02 p.m. Tuesday, May 15): Bert Johnson, the music department chair, will be the new music department chair for Lincoln-Way East, said Lincoln-Way High School District 210 spokeswoman Stacy Holland. 

Two longtime members of the music department resigned recently. 

Clifton Smith, citing personal reasons, resigned as the chair of East's music department Thursday, May 10, effective immediately, said Stacy Holland, director of community relations for . Smith, who has headed the music department since 2003, did not attend East's May 10 concert, even though the band performed a piece he had written for his daughter.

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Assistant band director Chris Mroczek is teaching Smith's classes, and the school is in the process of looking for a permant substitute for the rest of the school year, Holland said. Administrators at L-W East have started the process to find a new department chair, she added.

Also resigning from her post is choral director Alysia Lambert. She will be taking a position at another but will be finishing out the school year at East, Holland said. Applications are already being taken for the choral director position, and the school has heard from candidates from across the country, Holland added.

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The departure of these two staff members has caused concern among some L-W East parents with children in the school's music programs. Parents plan to attend the May 24 meeting of the D210 board to make sure the board members are dedicated to "keeping the music department vibrant," said an East "music parent" who didn't wish to be named.

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