Dear Mr. Stroup,
Of all the teachers we’ve had, you are one of them. Thank you so much for being an incredible teacher, mentor, and leader. You truly created a family dynamic and made the band program a second home for all of us. Thanks to you we went from nervous freshmen to confident seniors who know how to lead by example. We have learned not only to put our best foot forward in the band room, but in everything else that we do. We are better people because of this band program, and we have learned the value of hard work and trying new things. We know the importance of determination, and like you said when you were teaching us about hard work, if you really had to, you could eat a car. Your analogies may be a little creative, but they always proved a valuable point and pushed us in the right direction while keeping the fun atmosphere that we pride ourselves on.
The LMHS Band Program has provided us with opportunities we never could have found elsewhere. Whether it was speaking to musicians at Preservation Hall in New Orleans, performing at Carnegie Hall, recording a piece for Dr. Hilliard, or meeting incredible musicians and composers, we have had some of the most amazing and enriching experiences of our lives here, and we cannot thank you enough for that. We are so lucky to have travelled to such beautiful cities and played with world renowned musicians. We will remember these experiences for the rest of our lives and we could not be more grateful for your hard work to provide them to us.
We will cherish the memories we have made here forever, and we believe they are truly what makes our program special. It’s impossible to forget John Kim running out of the school building and down the hill before the day was actually over or jazz room tennis before pep band. It’s the little things like coffee Fridays after long Thursday night rehearsals, joking about riding the janitor’s floor zamboni, and rhythm trains in AP Music Theory that we will always remember fondly. We will forever look back on all of our special memories and remember “that top note,” our time here really “was a ten”.
Although we will miss the band program and all that it brings, we know that the memories will last forever, and like you always say, “Tradition NEVER Graduates.”
LMHS Band Class of 2021