The longer I teach, the more I see ghosts.
I see teenagers in my rehearsals who are now in their thirties, raising kids and in established careers. I rehearse pieces and can hear other groups from other years with their own interpretations.
I don’t talk about these shades of the past to my current students very much; I am just comforted by their presence, and by the great memories that they evoke in my mind.
I do not fail to talk about those who’ve come before, and the traditions and legacy we have built together. There was a time when, talking about those things, I was conjuring an idea from my imagination. Now I feel my former students encircling their successors, supporting and encouraging their efforts.