The Teacher As Inspiration: Part One
It was so fun interviewing Lester Fleishman, my dad, for The Teacher As…podcast. Dad was a music educator and I knew that he had inspired many of his students and made a lasting impression on them. I reached out on Facebook to see if I could get some quotes and anecdotes to put on the podcast page. The reaction was overwhelming and warranted two blog posts to fit it all. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your memories with me.
The main text in this post is a letter written by Chief John Ford of the Sharon Police in MA. He was my music teacher in junior high and told me often how much my dad had impacted him. Below the letter are some quotes from other former students who reached out about Dad. Make sure to check out the second blog post for The Teacher As Inspiration.
“Goodness.... how does one begin to tell the story of a person that has changed the way you think, changed the way you look at the world and life itself, changed the way that you are at your very core of being?”
- Chief John Ford
Well, back in 1968 or perhaps 1969, as a 7th grader, I met for the very first time, Lester Fleishman, Sharon High School's Band Director. He had come to Sharon Jr. High School to recruit and encourage young musicians to practice with the goal of encouraging us to audition for the high school band. I was given the third trumpet part to a piece entitled Exodus (from the movie starring Paul Newman) and a 2nd trumpet part to a piece entitled, Windjammer. To this very day, it is still one of my favorite pieces of music. I must have practiced those pieces hundreds of hours, so much so, in fact, that I can actually visualize the notes even now at the age of 64. I can also hear my father yelling at me to go to bed and, "Stop playing that darn horn!"
A few weeks later, my friends Dave Cross and Bruce Falby and I, passed the audition. A life long friendship began with those fellow sojourners in music and our tutorship under Lester Fleishman would begin to impact our lives. I should mention that many other lives were already enjoying the care and love of this man in many profound ways. We certainly weren't the first. I believe he started his career as a band teacher in the small Massachusetts town of Templeton. We would later have some great times in exchange concerts with Templeton where we would meet Director Ray Hapolja. I believe Ray had worked under Lester when Lester had taught in Templeton.
Left to right: Phil Hirschorn, Mark Porter, Jeffrey Sprung, John Ford
The absolute best part of my week was the full band rehearsals at the high school from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. It was like playing with the Boston Symphony to be among the great high school musicians. I can still remember when the first trumpet player, Sid Baron spoke to me as a puny 7th grader and remarked that I had "great tone". I must have practiced another three hours that night. During those rehearsals I was taught music theory, Italian (as all the markings are such) and often times Lester would stop rehearsals and just expound on life lessons or a favorite word of the day. I can seriously remember him telling us about what the word empathy meant and how to apply it. Or, what the word "quintessence" meant as it was the title of a piece. This may sound simple to some, but this is exactly what true teaching is - the cross reference of many different disciplines that affect one's emotional being. Isn't that what the Greeks taught us?
Lester (we always called him Mr. Fleishman), was one of the very first to create a jazz band on the South Shore. My, how many hours of practicing, how many doors of exploration were open, how many artists were we introduced to because of Lester's influence and teaching? Stan Kenton came to our high school and I observed Lester talking with this musical icon as an equal and trained pianist of the Schiller School (Berklee College of Music before it was named as such). Lester studied under the great Leonard Bernstein.... he humbly joked that he had only two or three classes actually taught by him at the University of Lowell. More importantly, how many of us did not pursue other potentially life threatening paths because Lester had invited us to the dance and the magic of performance arts?
So many great memories of that short time in high school all revolved around the man Lester Fleishman. Fast forward a few years as I decide to pursue a career in music and I enter Berklee College of Music. During my entrance exam I test out of several levels of music theory. My first year instructors ask me how I knew such things as the "circle of fifths' and "figured bass". I was a bit surprised, as I thought every high school kid got to study music theory in depth. I quickly came to appreciate that not all music teachers were as competent and as thorough as our Mr. Fleishman. Upon reaching my senior year, I knew there was only one person I wanted to student teach with - Lester Fleishman. During these college years, Lester had embarked on a new project to bring musical theater to the stage of Sharon High School. Oklahoma, Carousel, Damn Yankees. Once again, the man opened up an entire new world to me of which I otherwise would have never discovered. Some many years later after producing many school and church plays and excitedly introducing my own children to the world of musicals and the great American song book, I secretly thanked Lester for all those wonderful moments of emotional tears and moving melodies.
Fast Forward a few more years and I would find myself as a fellow colleague of my mentor and now friend, Les Fleishman. He would continue to guide me and encourage me through the difficult cutbacks of the 80's. Les would always model a level of professionalism and focus despite challenges to our programs.
Little did I know at the time, but Les as a navy man would even impact me. To this day, one of my only regrets is not serving in the military in some capacity. I would eventually go on to other challenges and enter the police academy in 1997. Wouldn't you know it, all that drilling and marching - all the terms I needed to know, such as, "dress right dress", Les had taught us in marching band.
My drill instructors at the police academy would ask me, "How do you know how to march, music man?"
"My band instructor, sir," I would respond.
I became a teacher because of Lester Fleishman, I learned to seek excellence because of Lester Fleishman. I learned to stand for principles because of Lester Fleishman. I learned to love a man of an entirely different faith than mine because of Lester Fleishman. I learned to love an art born of my personal black heroes because of Lester Fleishman. How does one adequately express that gift? Hopefully, by passing it on to others - even as a police chief of a small community.
Love,
John
“All I can say is that the Union #1 March, our first song, is stuck in my head and won’t go away. He was a significant part of the founding of the Templeton instrumental program. ”
“Perhaps your father saw something in me that neither I nor others saw, but he was very encouraging of my playing — both encouraging me to seek private lessons, which was not a possibility, and asking me to join the high school band. He asked me several times to come to the HS band’s practices in the evening. ”
“Ruth and I never forgot about him. Or Prepare Thyself Zion! And The Autumn Leaves, and Be Good to your Parents!! What wonderful days those were!”
“Music and horses! I loved the guy!!”
“Concert Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, show orchestra. Spent a lot of time in the band room with Uncle Les 1974-1978. He put up with a lot of shenanigans from us kids. Our inability to buckle down and learn the music for Oklahoma, with the show opening bearing down on us, literally caused him to break out in hives. Grateful that he had the patience to teach us maniacs ensemble playing and music theory. Grateful that he looked the other way when we skipped study hall to play music in the band room, where we could smell his pipe smoke. Grateful that he transposed parts for flute and french horn to make jazz band more inclusive. Grateful that he put an end one day to that transposing silliness and insisted on standard big band instrumentation so that we could sound fabulous. Grateful that he shared his love of jazz and taught us to appreciate its awesomeness. Still playing music (somewhat badly) every day 40 years later. School music teachers are saints.”