At Fuquay-Varina High School, choral director Ruth McCoy acknowledges the role of pop culture and even uses the choreographed numbers and pop music in her recruiting efforts. She said the same students drawn into chorus by splashy performances often discover a true love of music and seek out more challenging pieces.

McCoy has taught at Fuquay-Varina High for five years after working at a magnet school in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a private school in Montgomery, Ala. In her current job, she teaches three choirs totaling about 130 students. She said she is continually impressed by the level of talent at her school.

Q: Do you find that "Glee" has made chorus "cool" again?

A: I always found that really offensive. I have never found that chorus wasn't cool. Currently, we have four football players and a basketball player in our chorus. I dislike the fact that chorus is promoted [by Glee] as being uncool.

You take a show like "The Sing Off" [a reality show where a capella groups compete], and plenty of cool people are singing. I think "Glee" sends a mixed message.

But then, saying that, I do use pop tunes and "Glee" arrangements for recruiting purposes. It gets both middle school students and their parents interested. A lot of students come into the program because of that. But for many of them, their favorite piece is now a contemporary a capella piece, which is much more challenging.

Q: What types of music do your groups sing?

A: I'm really into a capella music. Classical music is my first love. I feel that, for singers to be truly advanced, they need to be able to sing without the support of a piano. It helps them listen to each other better.

We do a lot of Renaissance music and contemporary music as well as Bach, Haydn, Brahms and pop or Broadway tunes. Even before "Glee," students liked to do songs with choreography.

Now, there are just more arrangements, and the public is more eager to see them. The kids have a great time with the dancing; we just don't spend a lot of time on it in class. It's something we might work on at a retreat or after school.

Q: How hard is it to take a freshman who has never studied music and teach them to sight read?

A: We start with scales and basic tones in every key. We apply the scales to the songs they work on. They become really good sight readers after three years.

A lot of these kids come in with no musical background. I hand them music, ask them to sing what's on the page, and they look at me like I'm crazy. By the end of the semester, they can do it. It's amazing to them, and they want to achieve.

Q: What is your goal for your students?

A: Yes, last year we had five students go on to major in music in college.

My goal for the students is that they will be well-rounded, well-educated musicians. They learn music from all time periods and improve their singing voices. I hope they will continue to improve their voices and use them for the rest of their lives.

Q: What has been unexpected in your five years at Fuquay-Varina?

A: We were invited to sing at Carnegie Hall two years ago. I took them up to New York and had an unexplained near-death event on the streets of New York. One of my students did CPR, and that probably saved my life. I was in a coma for five days and away from school for about a month.

My kids went on and sang at Carnegie Hall. They came back to Fuquay and learned all the music for the May concert without me.

They worked hard to show me that they could do it, and when I came back, that was pretty moving.