Mr. Andrew Messerli

When he’s on the podium, he’s not there to be paid to teach us how to play our instrument. He’s there to help us become better musicians. He truly cares about us and we know that by looking at how he treats us and what he does for us as a director. He does all he can to keep us motivated. One of the things he’s told us that has helped me keep trying is when we play a wrong note or rhythm, it disappears as soon as it happens, so we shouldn’t feel like failures for not playing it right. We just need to continue practicing it until we can’t get it wrong. When something is going wrong, he goes over it again and again, trying to find out what’s wrong so he can help us. He doesn’t do that because he just wants to impress the audience at our next performance, but because he wants us to be the best. He wants us to understand we can work past our challenges and that we are better than the mistakes we make.

When we’re playing in class and it’s just clicking, the blend is amazing, and we sound outstanding, he gets so ecstatic. I’ve never had any teacher show so much excitement for their student’s success. His love for music is admirable. When he’s teaching, you can just tell how much he truly cares about it. He wants us to see what he sees in music. He wants us to study it and admire it and get lost in it. I am so grateful to have been able to learn music from him the past few years. I have learned more about it than I ever thought I would.

Awhile back, I started to give up on music. I felt like I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t play the clarinet right and that I shouldn’t even try anymore because it was just bad. I didn’t get how Mr. Messerli and any other band director could keep with it for so long. Then I started to notice little things that I didn’t before. I noticed that echo you hear ring out when the band is in tune and playing full, all with their best sound. I noticed the effect dynamics could truly have on a piece. I noticed how, if I couldn’t play something, chances where someone in my section was struggling with it as well, so we would work it out together to better the both of us. I started to work harder and just by putting in a bit more effort, it made such a difference almost immediately. I realized the worth music has in people’s lives and the effects it can have. After that, I knew I had to keep playing. There are times where it just sounds so good and so right that I get goosebumps up and down my arms. I don’t think I would have been able to notice those things if Mr. Messerli didn’t work so hard for us to be that good. That is why he is the perfect example of being passionate.