Dear Music Teachers,

Where do I even begin? Simply saying, “thank you,” seems as if it is not nearly enough to express how valuable your work and even your mere existence is, but the gratitude of your students is unending, nonetheless. You are truly life-changing individuals, and I, on behalf of musicians everywhere, write this in appreciation of you, for we are indebted to you more than words can describe.

Thank you, first and foremost, for providing us music students with a place of belonging in your program, your ensemble, or your studio. Growing up is hard, and finding oneself is even harder. Your classes and rehearsals are where many students find solace. They are safe havens, places to go in escape of a harsh world. They are where we eat lunch when we have no one else, where we make friends who are like us, and where we can be ourselves, free of judgment. You give us an accepting and open-minded environment and the opportunity to make memories that will never leave us. Thank you for always being welcoming and accommodating. Thank you for including anyone that wanted to make music or that just wanted to be a part of something. Thank you for showing us the importance of the inclusion and acceptance of others and for extending that to us. When we look back on our school-aged lives, our musical experiences are what we I will remember most fondly, for these reasons.

We must thank you, also, for the values and life lessons you taught us through our musical training. You taught us of the importance of hard work, dedication, and discipline. You said that if we wanted to achieve, we had to work for it. You knew exactly when to build us up and when to break us down. You pushed us to our limits and encouraged us every day to show us how capable we truly are. You taught us that it is unacceptable to settle for mediocrity when we hold so much potential…and yet, you taught us that it’s okay to make mistakes. You taught us that we are only human and that it is important to relax and to take care of ourselves. You even taught us how to work with others, how to build relationships, and how to communicate, not only with our words, but with our bodies and our eyes. You taught us how to lead, too, and that we should have confidence in ourselves. You made sure we knew that there is always someone better, though, and that we are never done working. These principles, and many others, are ones we will continue to live by throughout our lives, thanks to you.

We thank you for all the knowledge your teaching has allowed us to acquire. You have taught us to read and communicate with a language that so few people know. You’ve introduced us to an incredible world of history and theory. You’ve asked us to participate in something that encompasses science, math, world languages, and physical activity. As a music teacher, you have provided for us a plethora of artistic enrichment while simultaneously encompassing information in a countless number of subjects. You have made as more informed, more knowledgeable, and more eager, and it is through you that we have become ambassadors of this subject which is so universal. For that, we are immensely grateful.

Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for the countless hours of rehearsal, before school, during lunch, or into the most ungodly hours of night. Thank you for giving up your weekends, your evenings, your days off, your LIFE to support us. Thank you for making your own music education a priority and valuing your students’ educations in the same way. Thank you for making us your family, even if your real family had to give you up for a little bit. Thank you for travelling with us and doing everything in your power to bring us as many opportunities as possible. Thank you for taking us around our county, our country, or even, our planet. Thank you for your financial contributions, for the strings you pull, for the connections you make use of. Thank you for your corny jokes and music puns. Thank you for your absolute dedication. In summation, thank you for all that you give, emotionally, physically, mentally, monetarily, musically…the list could go on forever.

Most importantly though, we must thank you, our music teachers, for helping us to discover a direction for our future. It is your existence, your influence, which has inspired many of us to follow in your footsteps, whether it be simply as lifelong appreciators of music or as professionals ourselves. Thank you, music teachers, for making people like me want to share the beautiful love of music which you have instilled in us with others. Thank you for allowing many of us to realize that being music teachers like you is our mission in life and the path we are destined to take. Thank you for believing in us, and for not only supporting us in the pursuit of our dreams, but for helping to make them possible. I can only hope that I am a teacher deserving of this much thanks one day.

So to every music teacher out there, whether you teach band, jazz, marching band, orchestra, chorus, private lessons, theory, history, technology, or something else, THANK YOU. Thank you for all you have done and all you will do. I have no idea what my life would be without music in it, and that's thanks to you.

Sincerely,

A grateful musician, on behalf of us all