By Dani Palatchi

Woodward’s quasquicentennial year is a year for remembrance and the upkeep of tradition, and undoubtedly a year for new beginnings and do-overs. The band department went through a drastic metamorphosis between last year and the beginning of this year: with the retirement of band director Mr. Beard, the band received a blessing in the form of Mr. Jeffrey Rowser, a veteran director and drum major, who is now employed as the director of the Robert W. Woodruff Marching Band. Before we can revere Mr. Rowser as our band director, however, we have to go back in time and get a picture of where his passion for music came from.

Mr. Rowser started playing in the band when he was in eighth grade–following in his two older brothers’ footsteps. He played saxophone all throughout high school and college and was the drum major in college. Although he did sports in high school, Mr. Rowser caught a bug for band and stuck with it.

“Music was something, it just kept calling me, and I started learning other instruments…and it just took over my life,” Mr. Rowser said.

As much as Mr. Rowser wanted to go against the grain of what his family took part in, music embedded itself into his daily life outside the classroom as much as it was inside. In his home there was a piano that nobody played really well, but “just enough,” according to Mr. Rowser, and they would sing songs from the hymnal as well as the gospel. Heavy influence from the church existed in his familial life: his father, various uncles, and both his grandfathers were ministers. They learned how to speak publicly in Sunday school class and sang in a choir at a youth ministry. The church, as well as his parents, played a part in morphing his values that he would then apply to his teaching career.

“I feel like I’m very grounded in what is right and wrong,” Mr. Rowser said. “My character and integrity [were] built around the ideas of what [is] good for yourself and how you should treat other people. My teaching style involves a little of that, because I believe that kids need to have an understanding that their self worth is even more worthy when they help other people.”

A man of many talents, Mr. Rowser plays the saxophone, oboe, trumpet, percussion and some wind instruments. He was the first African American drum major in the Southeastern Conference at Auburn University. Similar to music, his passion for teaching emerged very early in life, as he was always finding himself in positions that would require him to lead.
“I’ve had bands as high as 250, 300 kids,” Mr. Rowser said.  “And so when you can do that daily, and influence kids and create minds and ways of thinking and ways for them to grow and mature…I feel like that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

Mr. Rowser explained how he feels rewarded through his teaching career.

“When I meet these kids at 13 and 14 years old, they’re still trying to figure out who they are and, just being very similar and immature, but watching them grow by the time they become seniors, the conversations you have then are so different than when you first started with them,” Mr. Rowser said.

Woodward Academy can always rely on an outstanding performance from the marching band at all of our varsity football games–win or loss–thanks to the hard work and dedication the players put into their shows.

“I try to create a culture and environment for kids to be a part of,” Mr. Rowser said. “And it’s something [where it feels] that everybody belongs. There’s no judgment. Everybody participates. In a sports team, you have substitutes: you pull one player out, send another player in. In band everybody plays. So everybody’s got a role. It’s a valued role.”