OK, this is personal, I know. But I’m pretty sure this story is typical of the indelible personal touch that most students here receive from faculty members, and that makes it worth telling. And let me add: I’m far beyond the age of a traditional college student.

Anyway,  it all started when my cousin gave me an old trombone last July. Being a big fan of such greats as Jack Teagarden and Kid Ory, I determined to learn how to play it. I began searching the web for instructional videos and books, and I contacted KSC Prof. Jim Chesebrough, who teaches music education and trombone, among other things, for his recommendations. “You can’t learn from books and videos,” he said. “Come over to my office and I’ll give you lessons.”

So, I lugged my trombone over to his office, excited to get started but also wondering why a music professor would care to waste his time teaching a somewhat-past-his-prime student whose brain just doesn’t form synapses quite as quickly as it used to.

I could go on at some length about how I discovered that the trombone is not nearly as easy to learn as I expected, and how humbling it was to start at such an elementary level. There are some funny parts to that story, but that’s not the point. What really impressed me was Jim’s patience and enthusiasm as a teacher. He was completely supportive and seemed genuinely delighted to help me over those initial hurdles. He presented the most basic trombone info in clever examples as if he were telling them for the first time, and all the while I’m thinking that he must have repeated those lines thousands of times. But they sure came out fresh and effective.

When I told him how much his enthusiasm impressed me, he simply replied, “Well, that’s how I want my music education students to interact with their students.” And I knew that any future teacher who learned that lesson from Jim Chesebrough would be an effective teacher indeed.

“But is he good enough to teach someone like you?” you’re probably wondering. Well, you ought to hear me play “The Man on the Flying Trapeze.” Then you’ll know.

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Have you had Dr. Chesebrough as a professor? Or maybe you’ve had a similar experience with a different faculty member here. Drop us a comment and let us know.