in the 2nd grade when my teacher, Mrs. Donor, got onto me for playing the drums on my desk with my fingers as sticks. She said, “Lou, one day you should be a musician, but just not in my class.”

Little did she know how right she was.

Today, I have taught music to over a thousand kids ranging from ages 5-18, sung in auditioned groups in a range of styles and genres, played multiple instruments in multiple bands, performed choral music nationally and internationally, conducted multiple ensembles, participated in state, regional, and national American Choral Directors Association conferences, served as President and Treasurer of our ACDA Student Chapter, and importantly, completed my student teaching internship and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor’s of Music Education.