After three decades of dedication- Band Director George Bradshaw’s 34-year tenure concludes.
In December of 1989, there was a job opening which Bradshaw applied and interviewed for. His first day at Dover was January 17, 1990.
Bradshaw has an everlasting impact on his students. Alumna and Choir Director Samantha Roberts started teaching on the marching band staff with Bradshaw in 2009. She worked with the Marching Band throughout college, eventually teaching alongside him in 2013. Roberts states, “When I started teaching, I remember him telling me, ‘The students won’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.’ I haven’t ever forgotten it.”
Bradshaw encouraged Roberts to attend Mansfield University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. Bradshaw even took Roberts to her college audition as his high school band director did for him, stating, “I often think what would’ve happened if he hadn’t done that.”
Aside from Band, Bradshaw teaches other courses in music: music theory, music history, and history of jazz and rock. Bradshaw states, “The other classes I teach, I enjoy a great deal because I get to work with students who aren’t regularly involved in the music program.”
What impact Bradshaw has on students is ongoing for those leaving the high school and those entering. Freshman Samuel Julius states, “The first encounter I had with him was when he came to the middle school concerts. I remember him standing outside the auditorium doors, always trying to hype us up before we went in for our concert.” Julius is in the marching band and takes Bradshaw’s course in Music Theory. Julius states, “He has inspired me already, and I have only been in his classes and his band for a few months. Teaching music has always been a thought of mine, but seeing his pure passion and love for music has made me want to do it even more.”
Senior drum major Sanyah Roloson states, “I plan to go into music education, and he has been so helpful with that. He is always there, giving me advice on how to teach a certain piece and has given me many opportunities to explore my career field,” stating, “He has such a great insight into music, it has truly been an honor to have been taught by him. I’ve learned so much by just watching the way he teaches- it’s made me a better musician by listening to the way he talks about music.”
In everyday life, Bradshaw has found teaching music for the past 34 years to have shaped him as a person, “I’ve been around a lot of music and a lot of students- my interactions with those students change my outlook on music and daily life.”
