A Salute to One of America’s Finest
Last Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from a former music student. Chris had taken music with me for 13 years, starting when he was 5 until he graduated from high school. There were four children who had all started in school and music the same year. They grew up together, and we were all close. Chris had called to give me some very difficult news — news that was very hard for each of us to handle. One of the four was gone, killed in a Cobra helicopter that crashed in a Marine Corps training mission in California late Tuesday night.
Aaron was one of the finest young men I have ever known. When he started piano at age five, he was such a surprise. The Animal Note method was in its infancy, and most of my young students were still struggling with note reading. I told Aaron the animal stories about each note, and they quickly became his friends. He loved it and progressed quickly in his musical training. As he grew, he became involved in many worthy activities. To give him time for everything, he came before school for his music. Some mornings, he wanted to talk before he played, so we visited about school, family, activities and God. He truly cared about the people in his life and about his world. His music became his outlet for both his frustrations and joys.
When he graduated from high school with honors. he applied and was chosen to enter the Naval Academy where he excelled in his studies. The only piano available for his use that first year was in the mess hall. He wrote me that it was really hard to learn new pieces because when he sat down to practice, he was soon surrounded by other cadets anxious to hear him play; he was just that good. Playing for them brought great joy, but he also loved to learn new pieces and to practice before others was not comfortable. His second year, he was allowed to have a keyboard in his room with a head set. An outstanding student and leader of men, his music was his personal passion.
I received a personal call from his parents thanking me for the gift of music given to their son, stressing to me how much it had meant to him in his life. I thank them for the honor of working with Aaron. He was truly an outstanding young man, a loss to our world and a deep personal loss to me.
I thank the Animal Notes method of early music education for making it possible to successfully teach children as young as three, sharing their musical development and their lives. It has opened the doors that allow me to work and share music with some very special young people in my forty plus years of teaching.
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