Vikas Shah says, “Music expresses only the quintessence of life and of its events, never these themselves.” Alongside the social and philosophical context, music plays an important economic role. … We discuss the fundamental question of ‘what’ music is and the role of music in human culture.”

Those kinds of heady questions brings to mind all the teachers in our lives and how they are daily making a positive impact on our lives.

What could be better but to know that, while teachers, they are still people with their own unique personalities and stories that got them to where they are today, here, with us.

Think you know your teachers? Think again. Especially you band and choir kids who spend at least one year of your life working with them. Lots of time you are practicing before and after school, but so you really know your instructor?

It’s ironic that students who spend so much time with these teachers know so little about them.

Mrs. Dowers is a Capital High School alumni and graduated from Northwest University in 2012 with a degree in music education. She chose music as a career because her high school choir teacher inspired her, and through her, she “learned to love [music].” She has said that Capital High School is her “dream job” and we have been benefitting from her presence and personal touch on our music program from day one.

Choir has a concert this Fall on November 1, 2017-2017, and if you missed it, be on the lookout for another opportunity. It’s important that we support one another both in sports, academics and in the arts. We all work so hard to represent our growth and our school, come cheer everyone on in their endeavors.

Mrs. Dowers teaches a new class within the Life Skills program and shows extreme love for the life kids and music in general.

Mr. Lundberg is an Olympia High School graduate (we forgive him). He graduated from Washington State University (go Cougs!) in 1978 with a bachelor degree in fine arts, and music education with an emphasis in trumpet performance.

He chose music as a career for several reasons. He discussed the influential impact of good teachers, good mentors, and a great support group in college  that he “still communicate[s]” with.

He decided to work at Capital High School because his former band teacher called and offered the opportunity to interview for the job. He’s been here ever since single-handedly making sure the traditions and deportment essential to what is Capital and what makes our school the “Best in the West.”

Be sure to get to know them better, and not only that, but to say thank you for the difference in our lives they are contributing to on a daily basis and the memories all of our teachers impart on us every year.

Remember, knowing music helps with learning and while these music teachers help us not only find a place in this world, but actually helping us learn better in our other subjects. “This can be evidenced with the correlation between rhythm instruction and spatial-temporal reasoning, which is integral in the acquisition of important math skills. … music education is a worthwhile investment for improving students’ understanding and achievement in academic subjects,” wrote Alexis Kalivretenos.