The Joy of Teaching Is Music to His Ears
“G
By Peyton Tochterman
eneral Washington used drums in war to not only boost morale but also to communicate with his troops,” I told my Hill School 7th grade U.S. History class. Attempting to add a little drama, I added, “Like Levon Helm communicating with the world through his drum kit.” “Mr. Tochterman,” a student began, confusion in her eyes. “I know Washington, but who in the world is Lebron Elm?” Levon Helm is one of my heroes. He was the drummer for The Band and a member of the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and I had the profound pleasure to open for him one night at The Paramount Theater in Charlottesville. This was years before I became a teacher at Hill and was a highlight of my music career as a singer-songwriter and guitar player. That evening, Helm stopped me in the staircase on his way onstage, humbly introduced himself, and said, “That was one of the finer sets of music I have heard in a while.” In that brief moment, Levon Helm called me to adventure and pulled me across some threshold so I would journey around the world playing music and connecting with people of every walk of life, all the while searching for high achievement through devotion to my craft. I played 37 states, saw much of Europe and China, and served as a “Cultural Ambassador” in Afghanistan. I played at festivals, church basements, backyard Bar Mitzvahs, radio and television shows, coffee shops, schools, a nursing home or two, and of course, 1,000-seat theaters with some of my musical heroes. None of that would have happened but for The Hill School here in my hometown.
Peyton Tochterman strummed his way around the world.
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Don Carter was my music teacher. After he left Hill, he sang at the National Opera in Washington and then, following his marriage to a career diplomat,
Go Green Middleburg | Fall 2021
