GHS band director steps down
Sports reporter
After 11 years, former Goessel High School band director Bud Meisel decided it was time for him to do something much more important.
"I thought I ought to go play golf," he said with a laugh.
In all seriousness, his music classes and the students in them are more important to Meisel, but he decided this past year after 44 years in education it was time to move on. He will continue to reside in Newton with his wife Sue, who is a teacher, and still pay close attention to his former band students.
He knows they will be taken care of because his friend and former Marion High School band director Mike Connell, will be succeeding him.
"I'll come back and keep an eye on Mike's concerts," he said.
But as of this year the music educator who has spent time at six schools in two states, will be taking it easy at home despite missing the bond he had with his students.
"I love my [students]," he said. "I treat them like my own children."
Which means the bad comes with the good.
"It doesn't mean I didn't scold them," Meisel said.
But in the end the students knew what he was doing was best for them, and it showed in the results.
Meisel and Connell were the only two directors to lead their schools to perfect 1 ratings at the State Large Group Music Festival the past two years.
"Receiving a one is nothing new to Goessel," Meisel said.
That's because nearly everyone in the school participates, including those involved in sports, theatre, academics clubs, or just about anything else.
"It's important for kids to be involved," Meisel said. "There's no stigma."
He also said most of the students involved want to be there. He said the smaller schools, especially in the Mennonite community of Goessel, seem to have more motivated students.
"The kids always have a stronger work ethic," Meisel said.
Music is important too
Although Meisel graduated from Western State College in Gunnison, Colo., with bachelor's and master's degrees focusing on music and education, he said teaching wasn't always in him.
"I thought I would die before I got to teach," he said. "Some of my (former) teachers might think that that too."
But at 22 he began his teaching journey, and now 44 years later it's coming to an end.
"I've been a lot places," he said.
Before arriving at GHS, Meisel spent one year teaching in Colorado, four years at Dodge City, back to Colorado for 10 years, seven years in Ulysess, and 11 years in Concordia.
He then retired from teaching, only to come back as band director for Goessel.
His first year there he also taught science.
"I love science, but I decided it was too much," Meisel said.
He still thinks music education is important, and looks to the "Mozart Factor" to prove it helps students.
"[Music] stimulates the mind," he said.
Studies have shown students involved with music score higher, in the 29-30 range, on ACT scores.
"It's important for development and self-discipline," Meisel said. "Just the same as sports."
When Meisel was named the 2005 Kansas Music Educator Association educator of the year, he was featured on a local PBS program.
The No Child Left Behind act, which focuses more on testing in the schools instead of hands-on learning, came up in the interview and Meisel was asked what he would tell Governor Kathleen Sebelius about the program.
"I said you better not eliminate music if you want scores to go up," he said.
Succeeded by a friend
Meisel knows it can be hard to succeed someone who has been in a position for a while, but he feels Connell will do just fine.
"He knows what he's doing," Meisel said.
Their friendship goes back nearly 30 years ago when the two met while Meisel was working in Lamar, Colo., and Connell was in Cimarron.
Both had their schools at the 1977 Beef Empire Band festival in Garden City.
Through the years they kept in contact, and even play golf together.
Meisel was on the selection committee to help bring Connell to GHS, and Connell nominated Meisel for the KMEA educator of the year award.
They both are members of the band director fraternity, Phi Beta Mu.
"GHS has a good band director coming," Meisel said.
Connell feels he's replacing a pretty good one as well.
"Following Bud is not going to be easy," Connell said. "But at the same time I know the community support and expectation, though they be high, are very good."
"He is a marvelous musician and wonderful teacher."
