Dream big! \u00a0That is what Adam Metzler did.\u00a0 Adam is a high school band teacher for the Central Aroostook Jr.\/Sr. High School.\u00a0 Here he would fulfill his dream.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always dreamed of rebuilding a program from scratch.\u00a0 It was small, but the enthusiasm was there,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
The teacher before him drove the program into the ground.\u00a0 Only six students were left to work with.\u00a0 Interest in music was at its lowest point before Adam got the reins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a band director leaves it takes a while for the next person to build the program up,\u201d Wendy Grass, a 38-year-veteran of CAHS, said.<\/p>\n
Rodger Shaw, the former superintendent for CAHS, loved Adam so much, he decided to hire Adam over the phone.\u00a0 Adam was excited to face the challenges a small school would bring.\u00a0 His background was substitute teaching for larger programs in New York and Maine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to find my niche in the community.\u00a0 Getting used to a small school mindset, I had to change my thinking,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
Adam subbed for programs in Geneseo and Caledonia-Mumford based in New York and Old Town in Maine.\u00a0 Having work connections in New York, Adam believed it would be easier to find a full-time job in the Empire State.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter spending a few years substitute teaching and no luck finding a job, my wife and I realized we missed Maine,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
Growing up, Adam had a family cottage on the coast of Maine.\u00a0 He has many fond memories of the summers on the coast and from the University of Maine in Orono.<\/p>\n
Adam was like any typical band student.\u00a0 His instrument would barely go home for practice.\u00a0 He did enjoy playing in the band with all his friends.\u00a0 In 10th<\/sup> grade, his teacher wanted him to audition for All-County in New York.\u00a0 It is like the program All-Aroostook here in northern Maine.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t one to make myself look bad, so I started practicing and as I became better, I realized how much fun I was having,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n On his first audition, Adam was accepted into the group.\u00a0 It snowballed from there.\u00a0 He kept playing and getting into better groups.\u00a0 Before he knew it, Adam wanted to be a music teacher.<\/p>\n Subbing for schools that had larger music programs did not prepare him for challenges that a small school would bring.\u00a0 Scheduling is one of those challenges.\u00a0 Others were a small budget, working with old instruments and small numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get students interested in playing a baritone saxophone.\u00a0 I was able to work a deal with KMH music, and I was able to trade in the sax for four new clarinets,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n Some students will buy their own instruments.\u00a0 Not all who do this will continue to play and have donated them to the school.<\/p>\n One way Adam is keeping his students\u2019 interest is with a new program he calls Band Karate.\u00a0 Band Karate replaces the old program of practice time logs and gives the students something to work for.\u00a0 In his band room, Adam has colored belts up on the wall.\u00a0 Students will have their names on popsicle sticks and after meeting goals, their name will move from a white belt and can work up to a black belt.<\/p>\n \u201cIt turns into a game and gives accountability to practice,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n By the time students reach seventh grade, Adam suggests that they look for alternatives.\u00a0 Not to discourage them, he offers other options and will accept anyone who shows the willingness to learn.\u00a0 This is the first year of Band Karate and it generates excitement in his students.<\/p>\n Students are also excited about the brass ensemble, Mnozil Brass, that he took his students to see.\u00a0 Many of them are still talking about it.\u00a0 Mnozil Brass is a world-class group that mixes music, comedy and choreography to entertain any who would watch.<\/p>\n Adam may not be in a world-class group yet, but all in the local community can see him play.\u00a0 He has trumpets in the Northern Maine Chamber Society Orchestra, UMPI\/Community Band and the Star City Syndicate.<\/p>\n Many are excited about the program as it continues to grow.\u00a0 Adam hopes that what he is doing will keep students interested in music for the rest of their lives.\u00a0 He is just doing his part for the music community and keeping a time-treasured skill alive and well in a small town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dream big! \u00a0That is what Adam Metzler did.\u00a0 Adam is a high school band teacher for the Central Aroostook Jr.\/Sr. High School.\u00a0 Here he would fulfill his dream. \u201cI\u2019ve always dreamed of rebuilding a program from scratch.\u00a0 It was small, but the enthusiasm was there,\u201d Adam said. The teacher before him drove the program into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5826"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8493,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5826\/revisions\/8493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}