The joyful sound of instruments fills the halls of Emmaus High School as each band student works to perfect their notes, rhythm, and beats under the leadership of new band director, Stephen Koppenol.
Prior to Emmaus, Koppenol was a band teacher at Parkside High School in Maryland.
“The transition has definitely been interesting,” Koppenol said. “There are different standards between the states that need to be met, but also going from a much smaller school to a much larger school.”
Koppenol also directs a marching band at Kutztown University on Wednesdays, and attends their games when he is not directing for the Emmaus band.
Despite the difficulties of managing multiple commitments, his class loads, learning many different names, and being new to the building, Koppenol has already made some lasting memories with his students, such as senior Mikayla Sames. Sames spends her time learning percussion, mainly mallet percussion, for the marching band.
“I thought the transition was going to be hard, especially when it comes to directors who teach and instruct differently,” Sames said. “But honestly, the transition has been so easy.”
Sames has found Koppenol to be an extremely fun teacher and can see how much he truly cares about his students, as well as having a successful show.
“He doesn’t care about how fast we improve our show; he cares about the quality of our show,” Sames said.
Sames is excited for the show this year, as the band will be performing “Where the Wild Things Are.”
“My favorite thing this year has been having a themed show,” Sames said.
Overall, Sames has been having an enjoyable experience with Koppenol.
“He’s a really good director. I think he works really well with our students, and we are all having a really positive experience with him,” Sames said.
Senior Stavros Marangos, who conducts the marching band along with playing bassoon in symphonic band, is eager to share his thoughts and experiences with Koppenol.
“I think Mr. Koppenol is pretty amazing, so that really helps with the adjustment,” Marangos said. “He knows what he wants to do, and he does it, and he commands the room, but you don’t feel like he’s just a dictator.”
Similar to Sames, Marangos is enthused by the idea of a themed show.
“Our show is designed really good,” Marangos says. “We’ve learned a lot, and we’ve made a lot of progress musically as an ensemble as well as visually on the field.”
Marangos has already seen a difference in the teaching style compared to directors he’s had in the past. Even through the changes, he’s been enjoying the way Koppenol teaches his classes.
“I think a really good lesson that I learned from him is that in the band, he allows the student voice to be heard,” Marangos said.
Koppenol puts his best efforts into ensuring the happiness of his students by recognizing their mistakes and struggles.
“I tell students every day that we can’t fix mistakes if we can’t hear them,” Koppenol said.
