For over 30 years the walls of the band room at Dover Area High School have been home to a man dedicated to bringing music to the halls of DAHS. By the end of the current school year, George Bradshaw will bring his musical career at DAHS to a close after 33 years. 

Bradshaw’s teaching philosophy rests in being a lifelong consumer of music. He said, “We’re not here to see how many kids we can get to college or how many trophies we can win or how many accolades. But that 20 years from now a student attends a concert when their kid comes home and says ‘Mom, can I join the band?’ They say ‘Oh yes, let’s go to that meeting.’ That’s what I mean by a lifelong consumer of music”

Bradshaw’s philosophy clearly reached the hearts and minds of his students. Senior drum majors Eliza Burrage and Sanyah Roloson are excellent examples of students who have been impacted by Bradshaw’s passion for music education. Roloson said,“Having Mr Bradshaw in more than just band has really showed his passion for music. I had the pleasure of taking his music theory class which was shared with music history. In both classes he was completely engaged in what he would talk about, speak as though he had won a million dollars when he was just talking about how a song was written.”

Bradshaw tries to get students to think deeply about the music. Roloson said, “In band he would go into these discussions of what the song was about and the deeper meaning, making me now as a musician want to see the deeper meaning when the artist wrote their songs.”

Roloson plans to be an educator in music and wants to follow in Bradshaw’s footsteps. “He has been so influential in my music career and is the type of teacher I aspire to be. Mr. Bradshaw has always been so supportive in my music journey, and I can’t imagine where I would be without him. I can’t thank him enough for everything that he has done and I wish him the best retirement possible,” she said.