By SOREN LUTHER

The Mirror reporter

“So there’s something for everyone and there always will be… it is really good for people’s intellectual development and mental and emotional development, I think,” Brad Schmidt, high school band director at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) said.

Schmidt’s expertise in music began a long time ago.

Schmidt started as the student teacher at SPASH 30 years ago and has been helping kids get a higher education in music ever since. He also teaches the seventh, eighth and ninth grade jazz band at PJ Jacobs Junior High School.

Schmidt started his music career by playing in the junior high and high school band and jazz band. He originally played the clarinet and the saxophone although he later learned how to play the trumpet. He mentioned he didn’t want to be done with music after he finished school so he later decided to become a music teacher.

There are many favorite genres of music ranging from classical to dubstep, it all depends on the person. Each genre holds something unique that allows people to create new and interesting music.

Although Schmidt teaches classical and jazz music in the classroom, it is clear that he also enjoys many other music genres. “So, I listen to all genres. Sunday mornings a friend of mine puts on polkas and we listen to polkas… we like it all,” Schmidt said.

Music has changed and developed over thousands of years and it will continue to develop in the future. Electronic music is becoming more and more popular and will most likely continue to grow in popularity.

“Well, obviously music has, you know, evolved and changed, like, over the spectrum of time,” Schmidt said, “…and now you’ve got the DJ’s. These DJ’s that are mixing beats and then taking other peoples music… that’s really cool.”

Younger generations will be the ones to define future music genres and express music in different ways.

“I really like all that, and I thought ‘God, why would kids want to play in band in this day and age when they’re listening to all this wild stuff…. It almost seems like kids like it because it is so different. So I was worried, like, kids would slowly lose interest in playing instruments and things because it’s so far away from what they’re listening to,” Schmidt said, “…but, I think they still like it cuz it’s a chance to like almost go back in time and live history and play some of this stuff like living history… So then I was like ‘ok, that’s good. Then we might survive.’”

Music is all around and in one’s daily life all the time. It affects the moods people are in, the places people go and the things people do. “I think it helps, you know, give a person access to another side of their being and another side of their intellect…” said Schmidt, “I think it’s really a vital part of everyone’s life…”