When sophomore Elliot VanDerGriend ’28 was looking to transfer to a different college as a second-semester freshman, he was looking for a music education program that checked three critical boxes: It needed to be well-organized, feel like a family, and be affordable.
Naturally, affordability was the first thing Elliot looked at. Transferring from a school in Michigan, he knew that returning to his home state of Indiana would be a sure way to lock in lower in-state tuition. At first, he felt resigned to attending a state school that he thought didn’t specialize in music – leaving the first two items on his program wishlist unchecked.
Then, in a twist of fate, he met with his former high school band director, Illiana Christian High School’s Andy Anderson, just weeks before he made his college decision. “He actually knew Professor Diego Piedra, DMA, at Valpo. They’re in an artist guild together,” Elliot says. Professor Piedra not only teaches music, but also serves as the orchestra director here at Valpo – and works closely with the head of Valparaiso University’s music education program, Professor Jeff Doebler M.M. ’87, Ph.D. “[Mr. Anderson] recommended Valpo to me right away.” Together, the two directors quickly got Elliot in for an audition.
“I figured I would at least get a scholarship for good grades,” Elliot shares, “but after my audition, I was also awarded the Signature Artist Scholarship.” It’s a scholarship that covers nearly all of Elliot’s tuition, awarded by Valpo in support of committed performing artists getting the education they need to prepare for their future musical professions. For Elliot, it was his path to becoming a Beacon. (And the only thing prospective music majors need to do in order to be considered is complete an audition!)
Now, Elliot is shining bright at Valpo. He’s joined the symphony orchestra and already formed strong relationships within Valpo’s music community. In his music education classes, the infrastructure, academic rigor, and support have more than exceeded his expectations. “So far, I’ve enjoyed it a lot more – specifically because of Professor Doebler. There was no special person for music education at my old school; it was really just one person doing everything for music,” Elliot says. “But, [Professor] Doebler has firsthand experience with music education, and he teaches all of those classes. So, having someone who actually teaches music, teaching me how to teach music, has been awesome.”
Last semester, he took two intensive music education classes with Professor Doebler: conducting and school music. In school music, Elliot’s class would visit the nearby Hilltop Neighborhood House, a local community center that provides early childhood education, every Wednesday. “We’d teach three-, four-, and five-year-olds mini music lessons. We’d sing little songs… For one of the five-year-old classrooms, they actually brought in percussion instruments, so we were initially thrown off when we walked in and the kids had maracas and drums. We had never done this before; it was our first week doing it,” Elliot says, looking back. “We made it work, though, and that class has been a lot of fun because – along with getting actual experience – we get feedback on that classroom time from [Professor] Doebler along with our reading… Being able to have his personal touch is nice instead of just being like, let’s read the textbook and see what it says.”
Returning home opened other doors for Elliot, as well. Since transferring to Valpo, he’s begun working at an instrument repair shop in Lowell, Indiana, where he also teaches lessons; at Lakeside Artist Academy in Cedar Lake, Indiana, he teaches a small ensemble. Both, he enjoys – and both provide first-hand insight into the patience that teaching requires. “Not just anyone can be a good teacher… I have three little sisters, but you can’t teach little kids the same way you would teach your siblings. I teach an elementary orchestra group on Tuesdays and it’s easily the most stressful day of my week,” Elliot says with a laugh. It’s a lot of practice in classroom management – roundabout ways of explaining more abstract concepts and designing fun games that better relate to his younger students. For example: If there’s a rest, you have to freeze! “In music, there’s a little spot, [a rest], where you’re supposed to hold the note out,” Elliot explains. “For the students, the idea is: you’re a mouse, and you have to freeze so the owl doesn’t catch you.”
Elliot’s time spent at Lakeside Artist Academy and at the instrument repair shop is not a requirement of Valpo’s music education curriculum; it’s something he enjoys doing, and something he feels will prepare him for his ultimate goal: being a high school orchestra director. It’s a dream he’s carried since he was a freshman in high school, inspired by the very same Mr. Anderson who brought him to Valpo.
“Mr. Anderson was one of the best directors I’ve had in my life. It was my favorite class. He really made music fun while still challenging us. We’d always go out and perform in different places because he was great at finding gigs for us – and he would perform with us sometimes, too, because he wasn’t just a director. He’s a professional bass player that got hired to conduct a high school orchestra,” Elliot says. “I think that’s part of it – that he wanted to make music with us. I’ve always kind of wanted to bring that same joy and happiness to other people and the next generation of musicians… The teachers I’ve had and how much they’ve helped me to enjoy making music as a group – I want to be able to do that, too.”
Another teacher who had a greatly impacted Elliot’s future focus was Mr. Ackerson, his middle school music teacher who would bring in musical instruments from different cultures. Mr. Ackerson’s class, along with some of the collegiate courses he’s now taken, have revealed the importance of connecting music to the world around us. “A lot of times, music is just one of the ‘specials’ – like gym and art. But those classes are also part of a child’s education. They are just as important, and separating them from core subjects makes them seem like they don’t matter as much,” Elliot says. “You can’t stifle [kids’] creativity in schools. If you do, they’re never going to grow… [Professor] Doebler has done a great job explaining that going into music education, we have to be prepared to fight for that. Music shouldn’t be an aside, but incorporated into a whole education.”
While Elliot still has two years until graduation, he already has his eyes set on great things for local schools and the arts – from bringing music history and theory into high school education, to supporting students whose passions may lay outside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as his own teachers have. We’re excited to see all that he accomplishes – here at Valpo, and after in our Northwest Indiana community.
Follow in Elliot’s footsteps by exploring Valpo’s Department of Music, our music education program, and pathways for transfer students – or witness a performance yourself at valpo.edu/music/performances.
