Matt Kloepfer, Iola High and Middle School band director, has been busy establishing what he hopes is a musical foundation for area students.
Kloepfer said he comes to Iola for a variety of reasons. The one that tops the list is the chance to work with the kind of students he has encountered so far.
“I had opportunities to teach other places that are more suburban than Iola,” Kloepfer said. “But the thing is, kids from more rural areas just seem to have a stronger work ethic. These kids remind me a lot of when I was that age. They have parents who have instilled a desire for them to be better.”
That attitude has been exemplified in the growth of his charges. Giving private lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, Kloepfer can see progress.
“The confidence that they are starting to build has been one of the most noticeable things so far,” Kloepfer said. “A lot of them didn’t read music that well or at all. They’ve come a long way already.”
Kloepfer said a strong music program requires getting to students early, mentoring them and building their love of music. Kloepfer is looking for juniors and seniors to be mentors to middle school students, building their interest in music.
For those youths who don’t have instruments, Kloepfer says he has plenty of instruments for them to practice with.
“We did the Save The Music program early in the summer and it helped out a lot,” Kloepfer said. “We ended the summer with about 18 instruments that were donated. We have most of them ready to go right now and we’ll continue to work on the rest to have them ready as soon as possible.”
On the other side of the equation, students have responded positively to the new band director. The level of instruction has impressed some of the seniors.
“You don’t just get to walk through things during practice,” Cody Cokely said. “He pushes us to be better. You really have to work at things and that’s awesome. I can’t speak for all the seniors, but I know I’m a little sad that he got here in my senior year. I’ll only get this year to work with him.”
“You can tell he wants to push students to be better,” Colton Schubert, added. “We’ve had some good practices so it’s been good.”
Kloepfer said he can tell his new students are bringing out the best in him as an instructor.
“I’ve started stepping my game up even more as a teacher,” Kloepfer said. “They’ve been like sponges just soaking in what I say. They come ready to go each time. A lot of them come early and stay late. That’s the kind of stuff that inspires me to give all I can. Their energy pushes me to step up mine.”
The debut of the new band will be the IHS football Blue and Gold game on Aug. 23. The band has been working on many of the traditional songs played during games that help raise the intensity of the games.
“Our job is to give the team an extra edge,” Kloepfer said. “If we can keep the crowd pumped up and into the game, then we’re doing our job.”
