Moving to the beat of his own drum: Steel drums teacher Alan Bates retires

“Mr. Bates brings such a positive energy to our classes that he makes us want to learn about music and steel drums, and keeps us engaged even through challenging moments in class,” Steel Drums ensemble member Maya Westra ter spending 14 years teaching steel drums at the school, steel drums teacher Alan Bates will retire at the end of the year to continue his professional career as a steel drummer and bring music into his local church and senior community.

Bates attended Berklee College of Music before moving to New York City to play professionally in 1977. Before he decided to focus on steel drums, he learned how to play the piano, the drums, and the vibraphone in several different genres of music. Prior to moving to New York and teaching, he played steel drums for a year in the Virgin Islands for a year. “At first I thought [teaching] was a good way to make a little extra money, but then I realized that I was having a great time, and that this was something I’d like to do more permanently,” Bates said.

Before coming to the school, Bates taught at a high school in Brooklyn for three years, at jazz camps in his hometown, at his daughter’s preschool, and to senior citizens, which he still does in his free time. “I just try to meet people where they’re at, and help them improve from there,” Bates said.

Bates employs a similar mindset of adapting to different levels at the school, having worked in both the Middle Division (MD) and Upper Division (UD). Bates enjoys working with a diverse range of students because it gives him the opportunity to teach people at different ability levels in steel drums, he said.

When teaching his MD students, he is most gratified when he is able to show them how to play a few basic songs that they are able to showcase at a performance.

“One of my favorite things about teaching them is that by the end of the fall, they will have learned a song that they’re proud of, and I get to see the joy in their faces when they realize they were able to do it,” he said.

Simultaneously, Bates enjoys teaching more difficult and intricate music to his advanced UD ensembles. “I always notice that my UD students enjoy learning something a bit more challenging, and I want to help them achieve those goals,”

His favorite part of being a teacher is when he can see the smiles on his students’ faces when they can finally play the entirety of a song, and know that they were able to learn it and share it with the people around them, Bates said.

In addition to teaching, Bates is an MD advisor to a group of 8th graders, alongside Head of Middle Division Javaid Khan. “What’s most fun about being Mr. Bates’ advisee is that you never know what’s going to happen next,” Ved Daga (8) said. Every day during the 15 minute advisory period, Bates makes his students rate their day out of ten. “If our day is a 10/10, [Bates] will call it a Fri-ten or a Tue-ten, which always lifts our spirits,” he said.

Bates also serves as a faculty advisor of the Music Outreach Club, a group of musically skilled students who prepare songs of their choice and perform them to different community centers, nursing homes, and hospitals, he said. “Being an advisor [for the Music Outreach Club] is great because it’s really nice to be involved with students who are doing something this inspirational and kind to the community.”

One of his favorite memories from working at the school was when Yankees baseball player and guitarist, Bernie Williams, took a tour of the school’s music department and performed as a guest artist for a concert in 2017. “[William’s] manager’s daughters attended the school and he was nice enough to bring his own group in and perform for us,” he said. Williams was so intrigued by the school’s Steel Drums department that he later returned and performed as a guest artist with the bands.

Another particularly memorable experience for Bates was the 2018 Music Department trip to Hawaii where his steel bands played alongside the orchestras, choirs, bands and jazz combos, he said. “[2018] was the first year that we were included in a trip, and we have never looked back.”

Even before steel drum ensembles took part in larger trips like Hawaii, Bates would still try to immerse his students into the culture associ ated with the instrument they were learning. “A few years back I took a group of kids down to a steel drums fes tival in Delaware,” he said. “We stayed over one night and had the chance to perform and watch a bunch of different groups and see the differ ent styles that can go into steel drums.”

Maddie Yoon (12), who is a member of one of Bates’ ensembles, enjoys the collab orative stance Bates takes in his teaching. “Mr. Bates always has a lot of patience; even if we don’t get our song right on the first try, he will still be diligent in helping us make what we’re playing the best it can be,” she said. Bates always uses creative teaching methods to keep his students engaged. “He always adds dance moves to our songs or helps us learn beats by playing clapping games, and by allowing us to learn from one another.”

The dedication and care that Bates exhib its for his students was reciprocated when a group of students pre with a plaque Collage Concert the concert to the tune of Dancing Queen by Abba on the steel drums, music teacher Carmen Keels and Bate’s student Danny Cornstein (11) briefly spoke about Bates’ lasting impact on the school’s music department, and the care he has for his students. “We knew it was Mr. Bates’ last concert so we knew that we had to give our best performance,” steel drum ensemble member, Jacob Silverstein (12) said.

Bates hopes to leave behind a legacy at the school that inspires the next generation of musicians to cultivate a love for music. He also hopes they are able to find joy in learning and performing an instrument, he said. “I feel very satisfied with the time I have spent at the school, and I can confidently say that it has been the happiest period of my life. I consider myself lucky to be able to work in such an incredible school surrounded by such incredible people every day.”

After retiring this year, Bates plans to continue his professional career in music and teach part time at an adult group he has worked with in Tarrytown for several years in the past, he said. “Although I’m looking forward to relaxing more and having more free time, I’m excited for next chapter of my life,” Bates said. Along with being the leader in the adult steel band at his local church, Bates already has performances scheduled for the summer and early fall.

Katie Beckler Staff Writer

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