After instructing 4,400 students in nearly 34 years with Lake Orion Schools, you might say Waldon Middle School band director Michael Edwards has earned a break.
Edwards, the husband of Carpenter Elementary Principal Rose Edwards, retired at the end of this school year, and plans to spend some time visiting family and friends, and also pursuing some of his hobbies.
‘I’m an old car enthusiast,? said Edwards, a Rochester resident. ‘I rebuild British cars…I have a 1953 MG that I still drive around.?
Edwards started out his career in Lake Orion Schools, after graduating from Western Michigan University. He also completed graduate work at Oakland University.
Over the years, he has taught music at the former Proper School, former Elizabeth Street (the old high school), LOHS, both junior highs, Stadium Drive, Webber, Pine Tree, Carpenter, and Blanche Sims, where he met his wife Rose.
‘We’ve been married 29 years,? Edwards said. ‘She was a teacher (at Blanche Sims), and I was teaching band. I saw her standing in the hall one day.?
Edwards has been the band director at Waldon on and off since 1983, and he retires from there this year, after instructing six classes and 215 students.
‘I’ve had 4,400 students total over the years,? he said. ‘I still keep in touch with a lot of them.?
Edwards also keeps in touch with his high school band director, Eugene Heffelfinger, who is retired from Hamady High School in Flint, Edwards? hometown.
‘I became a teacher, because I didn’t really like school when I was in high school, and I always thought I could make it more interesting,? he said, adding that Heffelfinger was a great teacher.
Edwards started out at junior college before going to WMU and majoring in the trumpet, with a minor in voice. He began playing the trumpet when he was 10 years old, and the violin when he was eight.
‘I’ve had 34 really good years,? he said of his career. ‘I sent a junior high group to the Midwest Music Conference in 1996, where we were invited to play for all these teachers.?
Edwards said other highlights of his time in Lake Orion include a competition in Sandusky, Ohio in 1995, where his group took first place out of bands from all over the US and Canada.
‘We went back in 2003 and got first again,? he said. ‘That was the Waldon Cadet Band.?
The Waldon band also had a great year this past school year, receiving a First Division rating, the highest possible, at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association’s (MSBOA) State Band Festival.
‘I’ll miss the interaction with all the kids,? said Edwards. ‘I’m quite emotional about that part, this is my fourth year with the eighth-graders.?
Edwards said he’s developed attachments with the families of his students, and some past students? families he’s kept track of for nearly 12 years.
‘They become my kids,? he said of his students.
Since announcing his retirement in May to the MSBOA, Edwards said he’s already received a few phone calls about teaching clinics.
‘I also plan to substitute for music teachers in the (Lake Orion) district,? he said. ‘There is a lack of music teacher subs.?
In the immediate future, Edwards plans to visit his brother in Pennsylvania, and also friends living on the west coast.
‘I’m not calling it ‘retirement,?? he said. ‘I’m just tired of all the paperwork. I envision myself getting active with a community (music) group. I haven’t had time to do that in about 10 years.?
Edwards said he didn’t make a formal announcement to his students, although he did tell the group he took to the state festival.
‘I just told them, ‘A teacher always remembers their first class, and their last one,?? he said. ‘They were a big reason I got out of bed in the morning to come to work.?
Edwards said his colleagues at Waldon were a big reason as well.
‘They are all very happy for me,? he said. ‘They tell me I’ll be missed, and I’ll miss them too.?