The teacher that has made the greatest difference in my life is my high school orchestra director, Mr. Rudes. I was fortunate enough to have a trio of amazing music teachers in high school who taught band, orchestra and chorus. As an your typical over-involved high school student, I was a member of all three of these areas. Mr. Rudes was not only the director of the only full orchestra in out county, but he was also a teacher of AP Music Theory, and a 28-year-old with a wife and two kids. He went through each day with a smile on his face. He made music interesting for me as well as hundreds of other students. It is after his example that I hope to model my teaching style.
-- Lisa Marie Bryington, Vanderbilt University