In the Palatine High School choir room, voices of students fill the room. Playing in the background is accompaniment from the choir’s pianist Ann Forman as she elegantly hits the keys on the piano.

Forman has worked at Palatine High School for seven years as an accompanist for the school’s choir program. She was originally a middle school orchestra director for 40 years.

“I trained as an instrumental and vocal/choral music director,” Forman said. “So I had to learn all the instruments.”

Initially, she didn’t think that working in a high school setting would be right for her until she came to Palatine.

“I never thought that high school directing would be my thing, and then I came here,” Forman said. “I love the students. It’s such a welcoming school, this school is a very diverse, very welcoming school.”

“I like how Mrs. Forman is always so kind and sweet to everyone,” sophomore Lena Lloyd said. “She always says good morning and goodbye and she always has good stories to tell.”

Out of all of the instruments she has played, she says her top three instruments that she plays are the piano, viola and violin.

“I mean, [the] violin was my first instrument,” Forman said. “I didn’t start piano until a year after I started playing violin, but those are the big three.”

Outside of Palatine High School, Forman has played the viola for Harper College’s Symphony Orchestra since 2018 and has played piano for events outside of school.

“I play piano in church a lot, too,” Forman said. “During COVID, I was the only one that would play when the other pianists wouldn’t play, and even when we were just live streaming and there were only 10 of us so we were six feet apart.”

Choir students appreciate Forman and her work for the choir.

“I appreciate how every single day she helps us learn new things and helps us be able to sing songs with beautiful accompaniment,” sophomore Alexa Turner said.