From founding the Logansport’s Children’s Choir to being co-directors of the choral program here at Logansport High School, Tim and Susan Cahalan have had their hands full for quite some time.  

Together, they have been teaching choir at LHS for the last 19 years. Along with their recent retirement from the music ministry at All Saints Catholic Church, they have also decided to retire from the LHS choral program as well as the Logansport’s Children’s Choir as of May 2023. 

The Cahalan’s main focus over the years has been to instill in students a lifelong love of music and singing, but they have been known to do much more than that. 

“The Cahalans contribute so much behind the scenes,” senior Gracie Kitchell said. “I know other teachers do too, but they work so incredibly hard. They care about every single one of their students. Any time I need advice, or to talk, I talk to them.” 

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Susan Cahalan

Over the years, LHS Choir students have created a tradition to take a photo with Tim Cahalan with him in the middle and his students reaching in, touching his hand.

The Cahalans’ students are very important to them, and they take pride in all of their student’s accomplishments. Within their years of working at LHS, the choral program has flourished under the control of the Cahalans. They have had over 190 students selected for the Indiana All-State High School Honor Choirs, traveled to perform at Disney, and have had many college groups perform with them at McHale PAC. 

“Our favorite part of our job is being able to hear our talented students sing on a daily basis and to watch them develop their vocal abilities over many years of participation in choir,” Susan Cahalan said. 

Both Tim and Susan grew up in Logansport and were able to experience the LHS music program for themselves. Over the last few decades, the Cahalans have created an even stronger choir program than what they experienced. 

“Being in their programs has given me the opportunity to become more talented and confident in myself as well as getting me out of my comfort zone and trying new things,” sophomore Abigail Lupke said. “It’s just really cool to be in the Cahalans’ classroom. It’s almost always a good vibe. You’re able to talk and joke with them, and you end up with this little family of your own. You learn a bunch of really cool things and are taught well while creating some amazing memories.”

Tim Cahalan has been a music teacher for the past 43 years. Before becoming a high school choir director, he was an elementary school music teacher for 19 years. Susan Cahalan taught music at All Saints School for five years and has been teaching with Tim at the high school since 2004. Students label the Cahalans as “different” than other teachers. 

“The Cahalans are different compared to other teachers based off the sheer experience they have,” alumni Jaden Chin Hong said. “They’ve been doing their job at a high level for so long so you can really appreciate what they have to say when it comes to singing as well as life on a whole. They offer so much to students whether it be in the classroom or if you just need supportive people you can trust that the Cahalans will always be there.”

Current LHS students have only ever had the Cahalans as their choir directors, and are weary to see what happens next. 

“The choir department is definitely going to be different without them,” Lupke said. “They’re both amazingly talented and great people to spend time with. I’m pretty curious to see how the new person/people will do with such big shoes to fill.”

Even though the Cahalans will miss teaching here at LHS, they plan on sticking around. 

“We’ve been too busy with all of our choral activities for the last several decades to figure out exactly what we’re going to do upon retirement, but we are looking forward to finding out,” the Cahalans said. “One thing is for sure, we intend to be in the audience for the future choral programs and look forward to seeing our students continue to excel on stage.”