Dear band director,

I sincerely struggled to write this, mainly because I cannot exactly put into words what I want to say. I kind of feel like I’m writing one of those band blogs you had us write every term and the déjà vu is throwing me for a loop.

Truthfully, thinking back to high school is not always easy for me to do- I lost friends along the way, fought tooth and nail to get good grades, and never found myself fitting into any social group. But I will always look back fondly on my time in band.

I remember once you challenged us to reflect on why the arts matter. Many students, including myself, cited statistics of music education improving linguistic skills, advancing abilities in different core subjects, and even reducing street violence. You quickly snubbed these arguments, stating that the arts must be taught not because they help in other subjects, but because music is intrinsically valuable and as necessary to a person’s growth as any math or English class. Music connects us across language and borders. It connected everybody in our rehearsal room, across sports teams and grades, across any social caste system the high school bred. But the music alone was not responsible for this; it wasn’t playing "Arabesque" by Hazo or "Blue Shades" by Frank Ticheli. It was because of your dedication to us, and not allowing us to fail or doubt ourselves.

In my different ensembles, private lessons, festivals, and camps, I have been under the tutelage of more than thirteen different music instructors. None of them really believed in me, or probably any of their students, the way you believed in my fellow band-mates and me. You challenged me to stand up and own failure, to rebound with strength even if I felt incompetence weighing me down. You encouraged me to feel proud of my success and then push beyond that. Whether you meant to or not, you taught every student that has passed through our band room essential life lessons. That something worth having must be worked for, and that triumph depends on not one person sitting first chair, but the whole group. We became a real team under your leadership as our coach and quarterback.

I will always look back on my eight years in the band program with utter fondness and gratitude. At graduation, sitting opposite the underclassmen playing "Pomp and Circumstance," I saw part of myself in them; a high school student aware of how fleeting their time in the band program really is. I felt overcome with a kind of melancholy you normally wouldn’t expect as a high school student prepares to graduate. For someone so eager to leave high school, I left wind ensemble with the heaviest of hearts, but the fondest of memories. I became who I am in that band room.

So, thank you for the witty warm up puns on the board every day, for the winding analogies that somehow (nearly) always found their way to the point, and for teaching with the kind of passion, I will always admire. I couldn’t imagine how my life would have turned out if I gave band up.

Sincerely,

A flute player and former band kid