Corey Nordal taught at the Junior High/Middle School level in the Simi Valley Unified School District for 35 years before retiring in 2014. He taught 17 years at Sequoia Junior High School and 18 years at Sinaloa Middle School, leading such groups as the Concert, Intermediate & Beginning Band, Beginning & Advanced Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Choir, Music Appreciation and Drum Line.
Mr. Nordal was a product of the music program in Hemet, California (1972). His undergraduate work was done at the University of Redlands (B.M. 1977-Outstanding Performance Graduate) and he earned a teaching credential at California State University at Northridge (1979). He has also taught Woodwinds Methodology at CSUN from 2000-2005. Mr. Nordal has performed with a variety of groups on saxophone including the Gold Coast Wind Ensemble from 1990-2002. He has served as a festival judge for the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) for the past 37 years, served as a Solo & Ensemble Festival host for 9 years at Sequoia Jr. High & Sinaloa M.S. and served as the coordinator of the Ventura County Middle School Honor band from 2010-2020.
Mr. Nordal’s groups have enjoyed a widespread reputation for their musical excellence. His performing ensembles have garnered numerous Superior Performance Awards at a variety of Band, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble and Choir Festivals. In February of 2002, the Sinaloa Middle School Concert Band was the featured Middle School Band at the California Band Director’s Association State Convention in Fresno.
In 1996, Mr. Nordal was recognized by the SCSBOA as the Outstanding Ventura County Music Educator and in 2012 the Veterans Teacher Award for career achievement. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Lew Roth Award by The Simi Valley Educator’s Association as the district’s outstanding teacher. In 2014, the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center selected him as the 2014 Outstanding Teacher Award. He was recently recognized by the SCSBOA as the 2022 Bob Greenwell Outstanding Festival Adjudicator Award.
His greatest joy, along with family & friends, has been introducing thousands of young people to the world of music. The support of the students, teachers, parents, administrators and staff of the Simi Valley Unified School District has been a source of joy and inspiration.
His wife, Hilary, taught Choral Music & Guitar at Sequoia Jr. High, Hillside Middle School and Valley View Middle School in Simi Valley. They have two sons, Colin (34) and Christian (30).