Tuesday, May. 19, 2009

Teacher shares love for music

Students take show on road

As you walk down the hallway toward Tim Peterman's music class at Carolina Forest Elementary School, you hear it before you see it. Two hallways away, the pictures along the hallway shake as students work on a new routine for his Carolina Forest Taiko Drum Ensemble. The ensemble is an extracurricular activity for his students, and the practice session is an early morning wake-up jolt for early morning arrivals to the school.

Why does Peterman devote his time to this unusual music curriculum? "I'm hoping to open up these kids' eyes to one, loving music, and two, not to think the only music is what they listen to on the radio." Peterman said. "So many of the places I've been have opened my eyes to what the rest of the world is like. They would see that they could do so much and they don't have stuff."

In addition to his six music classes a day, Peterman coaches his students as working musicians. In addition to his Taiko drum ensemble, he acts as leader and coach of the Carolina Forest Steel Drum Ensemble. Both ensembles perform at local and national events. The student performers have played at Atlanta's annual Japan Fest, with the Pittsburgh Symphony and at last year's presidential debates in Myrtle Beach.

A drummer since the fifth grade, Peterman learned to love the instrument and dedicated his career to teaching it. He had reached the level of a full tenured professorship at West Virginia University, but he found the hours interfered with the family life he desired. "I never saw my son when I was teaching at West Virginia," he said. "I had to make a change or it was going to kill me."

Then came his move to the Horry County school system and his job as music teacher at Carolina Forest Elementary School.

With no money in the school budget for a drumming program, Peterman used his family inheritance to start his vision. "When my dad died, to keep his memory going and to have these kids play something they would never get a chance to do, it just made sense to me. It was nice to see something he never thought of come to life. It was out of respect for him I did this."

Peterman uses his love for the instrument to bridge the gaps between people and cultures.

"It's really neat to see someone's light go on in their head," he said about his love of teaching. "Maybe through this music from other cultures they can get a taste what's out there in the world. Just cause it's different doesn't make it wrong."