Jonathan Schoepflin

Walking down the hallway towards the auditorium of Elizabeth Davis Middle School, on June 4, 2019, I was filled with both nervousness and excitement. That was the day that I would choose which instrument I would play when I started 6th grade in the Fall. Upon entering the double doors my ears were assaulted with the sounds of different types of instruments, both wind and string, and there were kids my age wandering about everywhere. Not sure of what I should do, I stood right inside the doors and just looked around for some sort of guidance. Sensing my unease, a man approached me with a kind smile and introduced himself as Mr. Schoepflin the orchestra teacher. The common definition of a teacher, when googled, is defined as one who instructs. However, for those instructions to make an impact on their target audience, it takes a special person to be able to reach each individual student in a personal way. As John C. Maxwell states, “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Mr. Jonathan Schoepflin has been in charge of the Orchestra Department at Elizabeth Davis Middle School since the school’s opening in 2008, and has been teaching in Chesterfield County, Virginia for the past 28 years. It is not just the many years of service that has made Mr. Schoepflin an honorable teacher, but the ways he connects with the students to get them interested and involved in music. Per a news article, published by Richmond Times Dispatch, on Mr. Schoepflin (“30 taking acoustic guitar class at Chesterfield middle school,” written on October 4, 2009), he is credited with starting the first acoustic guitar class offered at the middle school level in Chesterfield County as a way to reach those students that were not interested in orchestra, band, or chorus. As a child, I have always been very small for my age and one of the youngest in my grade level. In elementary school I was very shy and was often a loner for fear of rejection. I have never been one to take the lead or be in the spotlight. After trying several small wind instruments and a violin, I finally found the instrument that I wanted to try to play, the cello. Due to my small size, Mr. Schoepflin started me on ½ size cello instead of a full size one. Even at the reduced instrument’s size, I was barely taller than the ½ size cello (see attached picture taken at Elizabeth Davis Middle School, June 4, 2019). Upon entering the orchestra classroom, at the start of the school year, I was nervous and intimidated and tried to find a seat in the back. Sensing my unease, Mr. Schoepflin only let me remain in the back of the classroom for a few class periods before he brought me to a seat in the front of the class. Mr. Schoepflin always had a way of making his students feel comfortable, he let them know that their opinion mattered, and it was his belief in me that allowed me to discover a talent that I didn’t know that I had. By the end of my eighth-grade year, I had earned the position of first chair of the cello section and was finally playing a full-sized cello. Three years under Mr. Schoepflin’s tutelage as my orchestra instructor allowed me the confidence to preform solos in front of the class, audition for outside performances, and apply and audition for acceptance into a specialty center for the performing arts. I am currently a tenth grader in the orchestra program in the Specialty Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale High School, and just recently, in January, I auditioned and made 2nd chair in the cello section for the Longwood University Honors Orchestra. Soon it will be time to choose classes for the next school year, and there is an orchestra class, Chamber Orchestra, that is by audition only. However, the orchestra director sent out a message that she would be unable to help interested students prepare due to her busy schedule. The required pieces for the audition were in a scale that I was unfamiliar with, and since my current director is unavailable, I have seriously considered not auditioning. As luck would have it, it was open house at Elizabeth Davis Middle School on January 23rd, and my little brother is going to be a rising 6th grader in the fall. Upon walking those familiar hallways again, I was greeted by that same warm smile that I saw almost 5 years ago, Mr. Schoepflin. He asked me how things were going in high school, and I explained my dilemma about the Chamber Orchestra. Without hesitation, Mr. Schoepflin offered to work with me on my required pieces for the auditions in the afternoons after school. I have been meeting with him at least once or twice a week since that day, during his own personal time, without any type of compensation for his time, other than to see me excel. Working with Mr. Schoepflin again has really given me a new sense of motivation and showed me that there are still teachers that care about their students inside and outside the classroom, and after they have moved on in their educational pathway. From talking to my fellow classmates, I don’t think there is a student that Mr. Schoepflin has taught that he hasn’t had an impact on. Each one of his students is a better person because of him. Mr. Schoepflin reminds me of Mr. Holland from the movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus. I think the statement that one of Mr. Holland’s very first students made at the end of the movie adequately fits Mr. Schoepflin, “…We are your symphony, …We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. And we are the music of your life.” If it were not for the care and support of Mr. Schoepflin, I would not be as confident in my abilities, nor would I have discovered my talent and love for music.

Ashlynn Blankenship