Through years of leading a marching band down the streets of a busy Hudson and conducting a glowing Wind Symphony under sweltering lights, Beverly O’Connor has certainly left her mark on the town. Starting in 1985, O’Connor was a young, inexperienced teacher. “I was 25 when I started teaching. The first five years were rough. Once I learned how to be myself, things got a lot easier,” O’Connor remembered.
The Hudson High School Swing Marching Band has been the highlight of the community for forever. Football games are packed with people that come for the band, watching as students preform intricate drills across the 100 yard field. The dedication to the visual art is evident as each movement is made with perfect timing and measured step size. The performance couldn’t have been done with out someone who commands respect and attention leading the band. Even in O’Connor’s Wind Symphony, the drive and focus of each student is evident in the flowing music that echoes from the stage.
Starting at the middle school level, O’Connor teaches a bit different from the other teachers that could be found in the middle school. She was strict, but not mean, and pushed each kid to do their very best on the instrument that they chose. “I was frightened at first, given her abrupt manner when teaching, but after spending four years working with her, I learned to appreciate the tough love she uses to get the best from each and every one of her students,” Charlie Ross said. Each kid that entered her middle school classroom knew that there could be a day where they got scolded for not knowing the correct rhythm, or for not know the proper notes for the passage assigned. It gave each musician a goal for practicing, pushing themselves to be the best that they could in band. O’Connor was best at encouraging friendly competition between students. It gave each of them a physical goal, to beat the student in the chair above them, or to keep the gilded first chair.
“Mrs. O’Connor never changed that much, but she earned more respect as people made their way through the bands,” Parker Kollar recalls. “She was definitely able to challenge people, and her direction helped me in parts that I didn’t think I could play. She was able to take a joke, but also keep the band on track without anything getting out of hand.” Students through the years have respected O’Connor, many returning to visit her and their friends. Most alumni show up during football games, as well as traveling to band camp to meet up with old friends and teachers. “Kids come back all the time. Sometimes they’ve gone and gotten married to each other in the time that I haven’t seen them. I even have had former students’ kids come through my classes,” O’Connor said. Band is a class that is built on the respect of the teacher, other students and the music. When one fails, the band itself cannot be the best. O’Connor gives respect to everything, no matter how silly or stupid it might seem in the moment. Even if it is music that is based on a video game, she can ensure that every student is working their hardest on the piece and giving their all into learning the music, so that the performance at the end of the learning period is the best that it could possibly be.
O’Connor is a teacher that can challenge an individual student, watching them grow as both a person and a musician. “She challenged me by having me take up a different instrument when a spot needed to be filled in a band. It was first the baritone sax in middle school, and then the bassoon in high school. Some of this was on my own doing, but her coaching and support really helped me when it was tough,” Ross said.
O’Connor ultimately wanted the best for every student. Despite her tough love and her strict rules, it was exhilarating when a drill in marching band or a piece in concert band was done perfectly. A chill would run up anyone’s spine rewatching a performance, reliving when their work was on the level to command respect from those around. Despite her retirement, O’Connor will remain in the memory of the band kids who had her, and welcome the new director with open arms.
