A little less than thirty years ago, we hired a hip, young horn player from Philadelphia to manage a fledgling music program. Paul Silverman proceeded to establish a jazz/rock and recording program that has endured and prospered. This morning, we tore down Ives House Barn, which was home to those music programs.

If music at Proctor grew around the talents of Paul Silverman, it now reflects the equally remarkable talents of Bill Wightman. Today, we have the finest recording studio to be found at any prep school, and the jazz/rock band has more than a dozen tunes to play at any time.

We sat through a marathon faculty meeting after students departed for the holiday break yesterday. At the start, Mike read an email he received from a grateful parent. The message begins, "It is so easy to complain when things are wrong in your child's life and forget to compliment the positive things." More photos from jazz/rock:

She goes on to identify specific reasons why she admires her son's fall coach, citing, "He has been a positive role model for [my son] who holds him accountable for his actions. He is a person who cares about his team, not for the winning scores, but for the whole person, the whole team. [He] is the kind of leader you read about."

She continues, "He cares about each individual, and he cares for his team, not afraid to show his emotions and being a father to a wonderful, caring family. He's a man I watch after each game thank his family for supporting him."

"I love Proctor, and I am proud when I speak of Proctor to other indiviuals and families. Proctor is a wonderful place to have your child grow up to become a leader for our future. For this I thank you and I thank [his coach]."

And so--like a music program--an athletic program grows to reflect the character, talent and strength of a human being.