The doors of the chapel opened and in marched the bagpipes, kept in time by the drums, followed by the dancers.  All dressed in traditional plaid kilts, this group marched in proudly, representing their school, on a concert honoring three retiring music faculty members. It had already been an emotional concert, filled with classic band pieces, one written in honor of an alumnus who had tragically passed away.  

As I sat in the audience, I was struck by what a wonderful, unique experience this was.  The audience was an eclectic array of people, faculty members, alumni, parents, colleagues and friends, old and new, all there to honor the retirees.  A friend and I had planned this trip for some time and despite a few mishaps along the way, had finally arrived at this concert in time to watch a woman we both admire conducting her final concert after 35 years at Wooster College. Why travel so many miles just to see someone conduct a concert?  Well, when that someone has made a significant impact upon your life and the lives of other music educators and students around the country, you make the time and effort to go.  

For me, she epitomizes the authoritative (she’ll say bossy), educated, independent woman.  Soft spoken but confident, she has a presence I don’t believe she realizes. She’s the kind of person I strive to be and certainly an example to follow.  Her vulnerability allows her to express what she’s feeling and thinking, even when she is uncomfortable with it.  She knew this would be a bittersweet experience for her and I watched as she almost lost it was when she was talking about how much she would miss the students.  And then she stood a little taller, made a little joke, sucked it up and went back to work.  

You see, as the consummate music educator, she realizes that while she may get emotional, her job, her MISSION, is to help her students to express their emotions through the music they play on their instruments.  There is such a fine line between being technically in control and letting go enough to allow yourself to shine through the music. As I tell even my youngest musicians, you want to make the audience feel something WITH you.  You do it using all of the technical knowledge well, but then you have to let go and personally express what the music is saying through you.

And this is exactly what she did.  Her students played pieces with feeling, at one point allowing the audience to feel the sorrow once felt when that young man died.  I looked to see that everyone around me had tears in their eyes and marveled at the magic of music.  

At one point in the concert, our friend introduced all of the graduating seniors from memory, informing us of their hometown and degree program.  Of the seventeen seniors, only one was majoring in music with an emphasis in composition.  All of the others were in areas outside of music and yet they were all excellent musicians.  Music making is something that should be done by everyone because it is part of who we are as human beings.  Just like we should be taking care of our minds and bodies, we can take care of our spirit or soul through music.  Music is a medium that allows us to feel and express ourselves, which is something that shouldn’t stop just because you’re going to be a microbiologist.  Our friend had obviously provided such a place for these young people to feed their souls.

The hands that were raised at the beginning of the concert also proved this to me.  When the audience was asked how many alums were in the audience there were so many I couldn’t count.  Again, what was it about this person that brought all of these people to see a concert?  Like any great teacher, it was the fact that she had developed strong relationships with her students and again, had given them a place to create and express themselves.  Life doesn’t get any better than that.

I’m reminded of the quote from “It’s a Wonderful Life” – “Each man’s life touches so many other lives…no man is a failure who has friends”.  If success is defined by friendship, this woman is the richest , most successful person in town, all through the power of relationships and music.  As I sat listening to the bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace”, I was grateful that not only grace, but music had saved a wretch like me.  Music can be a lifesaver and it’s because of stellar music educators like my friend Nancy Ditmer.