Kelly Woodyard
Contributing Writer
Webster’s new percussion teacher Kevin Lowe comes from a musical background. He earned his degree from Missouri State University in music education.
Before teaching at Webster, Lowe was the percussion director at Fort Zumwalt West.
About his choice of picking Webster as his next job opportunity, Lowe said, “What really made me choose Webster was the community. The entire city supports the arts and I have seen so many great things from the band program as Webster Groves High School.”
“When the school year ended, it didn’t really seem like it ended, and I never really realized fully that Mr. (Dane) William’s was not coming back. When Mr. Lowe started teaching, it didn’t feel much different. They both have the same intentions for their percussionists, but Mr. Lowe implemented a more active teaching style,” senior section leader Nicola Rikand said.
Rikand also expressed some of the challenges with online learning, such as the sound barrier and technology lagging. Both these things sometimes pose challenges during Zoom calls.
“It is just hard to have Mr. Lowe play a metronome over Zoom because it can cut out and I lose my place,” Rikand said.
Lowe’s goals post pandemic are to focus more on the percussion program as a holistic and have smaller groups separate from the band.
“I want to organize all the percussion equipment! I can’t wait to set everything up so we have a percussion room where small ensembles can happen, percussion practice rooms with instruments laid out and ready to use, and our band room with everything organized for students to find quickly when needed,” Lowe said about further plans when in person classes resume.
Band director Kevin Lowe begins his first year teaching at Webster. Previously, earning his degree in Music Education at Missouri State. “I always wanted to be a performer and have music in my life. Through ensemble participation and helping my peers with their music I really found a love for teaching music,” Lowe said.
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