Last month, we asked you to nominate a music teacher who has gone above and beyond for their students during this Pandemic. We want to thank everyone who took the time to recognize their music teacher and loved every nomination that we received. We were so moved by your nominations that we ended up selecting three winners. This week we are featuring Jacqueline and her oboe instructor, Sally, the first of our three winners. Here is what Jacqueline shared with us: "I wanted to nominate my lessons teacher, Sally Bohls, for being the most supportive person in my life right now. She is an oboe instructor in Dallas, Texas.
I rely on her reeds to play, as I am a beginning reed maker and not quite at the level where I can practice on my own reeds. I was worried that I would be cut off from her when the quarantine started. She reassured me that she would find a way to help me with reeds and that we would figure out how to adapt to this new world. Her solution was to tape reeds she makes for me on her door and coach me through adjusting them on FaceTime. She is very thoughtful about how she makes reeds, and I can tell every time I play on them.
As frustrating as reed making is, she remains positive and encouraging throughout the process. She reminds me of how much I have grown when I start to doubt my ability. My perseverance paid of when I made my first reed that I could play on last week. Since then, I have made three others that I can practice on. I could not have done that without her steady commitment to me.
I send her short videos of my playing throughout the week and she gives me advice for adjusting my reeds. She occasionally sends me photos of her garden with words of encouragement to remind me that everything will be ok.
I am so lucky to have not only a music teacher but a mentor in my life. I do not know where I would be without her. I can only try to be as supportive as she is when I myself become an oboe teacher.
Thank you for arranging this giveaway. I found it a good way to reflect on how thankful I am for my lessons teacher. Bless all music teachers during this trying time!" As a winner Sally helped us to design a custom oboe bracelet that features a vintage fork handle, an oboe key, angle wing and some pretty beads. We love how it turned out and hope that she will wear it with pride. Thank you Sally for going above and beyond! A big thank you to Jacqueline for taking the time to recognize Sally! We will share stories of our other winners in future newsletters. All are inspiring and heart warming. We want to send out a huge THANK YOU to all the music teachers out there keeping our kids engaged and challenged while at home. You are all rock stars!