A life of Music
by River Santos
Embedded Files
Miss Jacqueline Ellmauer
Miss Jackie Ellmauer is the 7th/8th-grade band director at Transit Middle School. She has been teaching at Transit for nine years, and became the 7th/8th grade band director when the previous band director, Mrs. Jeanne Eppich, moved to Casey Middle School.
She plays a variety of instruments, though her specialty is woodwinds. She says she got her start in music through her mother, who worked as a band director for her school district. Even as a child, Miss Elmauer played many different instruments, starting with the piano in first grade. From there, she began playing the clarinet in third grade, and when her school got a bassoon, she played that. And, as she says, “the rest is history!”
In her youth, Miss Ellmauer attended every musical performance in her school district, which fueled her love of performing and playing. When asked what made her want to pursue music as a career, she responded, “I always knew that I liked playing and being in an ensemble. Music always came naturally to me.” However, her performance with the honor orchestra in high school convinced her that she wanted to major in music. She says she was “hooked on the feeling” that she had when performing with that group and on that stage. The feeling of a job well done and the hours of hard work that paid off exceptionally well made it a concert Miss Ellmauer would never forget.
Surprisingly, music education was not Miss Ellmauer’s first choice regarding music-related careers. She says that she really likes performing musical theatre, and that was originally her plan. She loves the feeling of being on stage, and that sentiment has remained with her ever since middle school. Her favorite part of being a music teacher is the look on her students’ faces when they have just nailed something in their pieces, whether it be a high note they didn’t think they could reach or a faster tempo than they thought they could go. It’s always satisfying to see hard work pay off, at any level. She says she loves seeing her students work together in an ensemble to make music. She also loves building connections with her students through music.
Miss Ellmauer enjoys working with students from all different backgrounds and says she “feels like she has the coolest job, ever!” As a teacher and mentor, she advises any students pursuing music as a career to make sure that they have an allocated time in their day to, “practice, practice, practice.” She says that having a practice schedule helped her balance schoolwork, extracurriculars and music, and kept her more regimented. She also advises that when looking for a music career, it’s important to explore all the options, as there are many. That way, the students can find what part of music calls to them and focus on that. “There are so many amazing career opportunities!”, Miss Ellmauer says.
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