Monday, April 28, 2014

First Instrument- Patty Scansy

What was Patty Scansy's First Instrument?


When I was 5 years old, a neighbor girl would let me play on her piano.  Occasionally, she would give me a lesson.  When I was in second grade, I really wanted to take piano lessons.  My parents were hesitant because money was tight and they were afraid that it was just a passing phase.  They told me that if I still wanted to take piano lessons in third grade, they would consent.  After the first day of third grade, the only thing I came home with was the paper to enroll in piano lessons.

I continued with piano lessons through my junior year in college, but piano was just a starting point for my musical career.  In fifth grade I began playing the cello and in seventh grade I took organ lessons and became one of the organists at my church.  Since our high school did not have a string program at the time, I started playing the French horn.  Eventually a string program was started in the high school and I started playing the cello again as well as continuing with the French horn.

I had always wanted to be a music teacher and so I attended the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and majored in Instrumental Music Education.  I was a French horn major with a piano and cello minor.  After graduation, I came to Green Bay and taught Instrumental Music in the Green Bay Public Schools for 34 years.  Throughout those years, I also played with the Green Bay City Band, The Heritage Hill Silver Cornet Band and was a church organist.  I am now retired, working part-time for IMC and playing French horn in the Allouez Village Band.

I am thankful that my parents consented to those piano lessons in the third grade.  The piano gave me such a wonderful foundation for all of my music studies and opened up a world of opportunities!

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