Band Director of River Forest High School Bridget Flory has been working at the school for 20 years. She teaches woodwinds and percussion while her Co-Band Director James Wasmundt teaches brass. When one is gone for a day, the class will meet in the main room, and the other teacher will teach the same basic material.
Saxophone is Flory’s primary instrument. Since she was little, her love for music was always apparent as she always knew she wanted to be a band director.
“I remember getting to direct in my senior year. It felt so amazing to stand up for a band and conduct. All I could think of that was how amazing that was to direct a band and to have a finished product,” said Flory.
“I knew I was going to grow up and be a band director, and everybody was like, ‘Oh, isn't she cute.’” said Flory. “And then through middle school and high school, my parents finally were like, ‘Are you serious? You want to be a band director?’ and I'm like, ‘Yeah, I want to teach band.’”
She continued her passion for band through college. At Ball State University, she joined the marching band, played soprano saxophone in a jazz quartet, and made her way up to the top band.
“I tried really really hard, and at the end of my junior year, I auditioned for the top band because they had one position open, and I got in. I got one of four positions out of the top band,” said Flory. “I loved being in college and I would go back any day. Just learning more about instruments and how to teach, conduct, and educate students; it was awesome.”
Flory received Indiana's Future Outstanding Music Educator Award when she graduated. After she graduated, she floated around trying to find the perfect fit for her forever job. She ended up working as a permanent sub for a big school up until River Forest.
“I really enjoy that closeness of having a small program like we do at River Forest where you know everybody like the kids,” said Flory.
The closeness to her community and students is important to Flory. Her students even call her “Mom” and “B-Flo.” Despite the fact that the pandemic led them to cancel their field trip to Disney World, Flory and her co-director still wanted the seniors to have fun.
Every four years, the band will take a trip to Disney, the last time being in 2017. This year they, unfortunately, were unable to go. To make up for it, the seniors were able to take a different trip as they fundraised for seven years to make the Disney trip possible. For this trip, they stayed in the state, adventuring to places like Holiday World, Marengo Cave, and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
After being solely virtual, students and staff were welcomed back to in-person learning. Flory has found that this affected the way the students learned as they were more focused and serious in the classroom setting.
“I think they realized they took in-person learning for granted,” Flory said. “They know this is really something special, it's not just sitting there watching TV and laying in bed or on the couch, so I think they really appreciate it. I feel like they're not gonna take it for granted.”
When Flory is not directing a band, she is teaching AP music theory. This class takes a lot of problem-solving, which some of her students will struggle with.
“It's like math and music had a baby. It dives really deep into the subject, so I think it helps open the students’ eyes, plus it's a weighted grade, so it helps their GPA. A lot of them like to take it for that reason,” Flory said.
There were very few women band directors when Flory first started teaching, but now the industry is growing with women, and Flory is proud to go and support her fellow women music lovers as well as her students.
“I think students need to realize that they can do anything they want to do as long as they put their mind to it and work for it. I think my school is kind of the best-kept secret of Northwest Indiana, because it's a great little town."