After well-wishes from a famous drummer, mayors, colleagues, friends, and family, Niles West band director Bill Koch waves his baton for the last time in front of the Niles West band on May 12, 2012 at the 31st annual Pasta N’ Pops concert. The music scores in front of the students seem to magically come to life as Koch drops the downbeat of each musical number. The music echoes throughout the gym which sends chills down the spines of the already excited audience. With the passing of each musical number, the crowd roars louder and louder in awe, even though they know that this is Koch’s last concert here at Niles West. After 29 years of being Niles West’s band director, Koch will retire at the end of the school year.
Thirty years ago, things were very different at Niles West. Our former sister school, Niles East, had just closed down and there were many tensions between the students and faculty of both schools. Koch started at Niles West in the fall of 1982 doing his clinical experience and then in January of 1982, Koch started student teaching at Niles West in the band program. At the same time, the current band director was retiring and by being a student teacher, Koch got his “foot in the door.” However, Koch almost didn’t apply for the job because he thought the tensions were too high at the school. Though he got a call on the phone one day from the director of fine arts at the time and persuaded Koch to apply for the job because he thought Koch was a good fit for the school.
Koch believes he was chosen for another reason. He said, “I believe that the kids chose me. And it’s been 30 years since.”
Once Koch had the job, there was almost no structure and no curriculum within the band program. In 1982, band was a pass/fail class. This was because in the 1970s, the school board went with the current grading system, but did not know what to do with the music department. With the pass/fail grading system, a student was losing out on taking the class because the grade did not help their GPA.
With this, Koch helped change the problem for the better. In the mid-1990’s, grades came to the band program which also brought a meaningful curriculum in which the students were assessed regularly, which was and still is considered state-of-the-art and very unique. At the same time, marching band became voluntary. Students who didn’t want to or could not march did not have to. This brought more students to the band program.
“The two bands we had up until 1996 went up to three bands when marching band became voluntary,” Koch said. “The band program expanded quite literally overnight.”
With the new changes to the band program, which still stand today, the program started to become the world class program it is today all due to Koch’s innovations. However, the three bands had to still play concerts throughout the year. Originally, the concerts were just things where parents came to watch their child perform and it didn’t feature anything else.
Throughout the years, Koch put things into his shows that made them more enjoyable so it wasn’t just a concert for parents, but brought out others from the student body and the community. One of the most recent shows, Koch brought in members of the Niles West Korean club to do a Fan Dance during a song called “Variations on a Korean Folk Song.” At another concert, glow sticks were distributed to the audience and were waved back and forth in the air like lighters at a Journey concert during the Niles West band’s rendition of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”
Through Koch’s innovations, concerts evolved as a whole.
“[The program] has evolved by taking good music and adding it with other mediums of fine arts,” he said.
Koch also has written many of the curriculums for the other music classes within the fine arts program including digital piano, the percussion class, and electronic music. These classes allow students who want to take music classes other than band, orchestra, or choir an opportunity to learn about music.
With these new class additions, we finally caught up to other CSL schools bringing us into the 21st century.
In Koch’s upcoming retirement, he plans on starting up an educational consulting firm. He wants to do this because he wants to help other schools and teachers by sharing his knowledge to better the educational system in the United States. He considers himself a specialist in this field.
Many students have walked through the doors of Niles West throughout Koch’s time at Niles West, but he believes that his students are the best students. They always want to be there and they enjoy having Koch as a teacher. Without them, Koch believes, the band program would be nothing like it is today. Although Koch did so much for the band program, he even says that he couldn’t have done it by himself. This also includes other faculty members, friends, family, and community members. Without them, the program would also not be the same as it is today.
“This program could not be successful if even one person was gone,” he said.
Through his many “Koch-isms,” students of Koch did not just learn about music, but learned life lessons as well. One of his most famous would probably be this: “To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is to be fired.”
Koch’s legacy will live on forever in the future of Niles West High School. The school is forever changed for the better and without him, things would be very different.
“[I want my legacy to be] one of excellence. I inherited a program that was already known for having an excellent fine arts program and I think I held it to the same standard. I would like to be remembered for bringing the program into the this century by integrating technology into the program. Then it’s a 21st century musical experience,” he said.
As previously explained, his job isn’t just about teaching music to students in band, but it’s about teaching young people to be responsible.
“It’s not about the black notes on the white page, it’s about teaching young people how to be responsible adults and citizens through music,” he said.
His three most memorable moments would be marching in the Hollywood Christmas Parade, which was broadcasted live on TV, marching in the Indianapolis 500 parade, and marching in the Kentucky Derby parade; however, he considers a lot of other moments to be great moments in his three decades at Niles West. These moments could have happened during a class, during the school’s spring musical, or even just in passing in the hallway.
On May 12, 2012, it became public knowledge that May 29, 2012 would be William S. Koch Day in Skokie. However. that has already passed. Though we, the students of Niles Wes,t don’t need a special day of the year to remember him, I think every day we can remember the great things he’s done for our school. June 5, 2012 will be Bill Koch’s last day of a normal class schedule at Niles West.
Below, I asked a few students and faculty members to answer two questions for me: “What has Mr. Koch done for you in your years at Niles West?” and “Do you have any well-wishes to send to Mr. Koch?
“Mr. Koch has taught me so much. I didn’t know what to expect the first day I walked into room 1715, but I sure never imagined this. Mr. Koch gave me something truly special. He inspired me. I had thought of going into music as a career, but Mr. Koch solidified it. I really owe him for that and I’m thankful. Mr. Koch has given so much to West and built an incredible band program. I hope we can keep his legacy,” said junior Alison Stangel.
“Mr. Koch has been one of my biggest inspirations in life. I know it sounds really cheesy, but being in his band program for the past four years has changed me as a person and a musician. As a person I’ve learned that I can be better than just average, but only if I work at it. As a musician he has not only made me love playing music, but he also gave me every opportunity to perform and learn from some of the best musicians in the city [and] nation and has given me a very strong foundation to expand
on. The band program won’t be the same without him, and I can safely say that everyone that was lucky enough to experience band with him will miss him quite a bit. I wish him the best of luck with everything he does in the future,” said senior Eric Tranton.
“Mr. Koch has been a wonderful colleague and friend; the fine arts department is a small, but mighty department and it is nice to have someone down the hall who can offer a sense of history, community, and energy that keeps everyone moving. In his nearly 30 year career, he has transformed fine arts in this district and I feel honored and committed to keep his legacy alive. We are the award-winning department now because of the hard work of people like Mr. Koch. Plus, he is always good for a laugh, which is a great way to diffuse those stressful days that creep up on us! I wish a many wonderful days of golf, travel and–most importantly–rest for Mr. Koch. He is retiring at such a young age and has many opportunities awaiting as he starts the next chapter of his life. I’m look forward to watching that [next] chapter unfold and to continue to call him a friend even after this year ends,” said theatre director Andy Sinclair.
“Mr. Koch has been a big father figure to me and he got me involved. I could go as far as to say that if it were not for him, I would not be the Junior Cabinet president I am today. His presence will be greatly missed because he teaches so much more than just music and in his retirement, I hope he enjoys himself; however, I hope he continues to do what he does best, which is helping others succeed,” said junior Justin Sia.
“He’s probably been the biggest role model I’ve had in the past four years and he’s always trying to find the best for the group. He’s been here longer than any teacher and he’s seen a lot of change here. He’s shaped Niles West to what it is now. It would be different without him because he improved many of the systems here,” said senior Will Lefler.
“I came in as a freshman and I was in band all four years and he teaches you to be just a good person. Like respecting authority and being on time. I can’t imagine the band program without him. If I were a junior I’d be devastated. He always says, ‘if you need anything, I’ll be here,’” said senior Steven Czajkowski.
“I started off in beginning band because my mom made me and I wasn’t really interested in music and Mr. Koch taught me that music is more than playing an instrument. It’s a way of expressing emotion. [It] makes people feel things. He taught me life
lessons, too. One of his famous life lessons is the pursuit of excellence. [With] everything he did, he encouraged us to put our best effort in. He always has his own creative ways of making things more creative. He puts his stamp on things. He’s the one teacher I’ve seen every day [since] freshman year. He knows me better than any other teacher. He will be missed. I’ll miss him too. It’s because of him and his interest in me I am the musician I am and I have the friends that I have,” said junior Joy Sherman.
Finally, as the writer of this article and a student of Mr. Koch’s, I’d like to personally thank Mr. Koch for what he’s done for me. I have not been in a school band program since I quit my grade school band in 5th grade. Once I reached high school, I still couldn’t join band because I was a guitarist, but Mr. Koch helped me become a better musician without having to join band. He gave me opportunities no other music teacher has given me.
For the future, I wish Mr. Koch the best in his retirement and I hope to stay in touch in some way. He will be greatly missed in the Niles West community, but we know that in the next phase of his life, he will bring his greatness to help out others and all that he has done for Niles West will never be forgotten.
