This is teacher appreciation week, and I deeply appreciate so many of my teachers. I have had so many wonderful and influential teachers, but for the focus of this reflection I will highlight one teacher that made a difference in my life, in far more than just music.
Without a doubt, the teacher that made more of an impact on my life as a whole than any other is Gail Phillips. Gail (who I still call Mrs. Phillips to this day) took over as the band director at Cascade Jr. High in Auburn, WA when I was in the 8th grade. She was (and most certainly still is) an amazing musician and one of the most impeccable trumpet players I have ever heard. As a musician, she had it all: technic, finesse, sound (such beautiful tone), and style. And she could swing. Don’t mess with her on piccolo either as she is a force to be reckoned with.
But she could teach. Gail is a highly effective teacher because she knows music, she loves it, lives it, and breathes it—and because she cares deeply about the music but more importantly, the students she is teaching to make it. And that’s music that matters and makes a difference.
When I first met Mrs. Phillips I was lost in my sauce. I didn’t have a clue how to read music, I didn’t know my fingerings (trumpet), and was headed towards defeat and giving up. She recognized this, called me on it lovingly, and challenged me to commit to learning music and the horn. She offered to teach me privately. I’m not sure she taught many private students. Those of us that she did teach were afforded what I believe was an amazing opportunity to be treasured, and treasure those times I still do. She taught me privately from 8th grade through my senior year.
Mrs. Philips didn’t just teach me about music either. She taught me about life. I had a tough time in junior high. I had maybe a better time in high school, but it was often still rough. Being a teenager is not easy. There were many days when I was seriously struggling with teenage life. Sometimes I would even come hideout in the band hall in junior high. She would always find me and always had some way of making me feel better and encouraging me to get back out there.
This is the kind of teacher I strive to be. This is the kind of teacher that we at The Tuned In Academy are all aspiring to be. We care deeply about music, and we are committed to helping our students learn and love the theory, technique, culture, history, expression, and beauty of music. But more than that, we hope that our students will be affected in their life, that the discipline, joy, and majesty of music will be something that will seep out of who they are and make the world a better place through them.