After 25 years at Palo Alto High School, band and orchestra teacher Jeffrey Willner is going out with a bang, conducting and producing his last concerts with his students tonight and — with more than 100 alumni — tomorrow.
Willner’s last formal concert with his Paly students, the Paly Instrumental Concert, is tonight at 7 p.m.
Tomorrow, he’s bringing back alumni from his time at Paly to perform one last time all together on the Quad at 7 p.m.
The Paly Instrumental Concert will feature the Paly Concert Band, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band and Symphonic Orchestra. It will consist of songs including “Second Hungarian Rhapsody” by Liszt, “Halcyon Hearts” by Katahj Copley and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.
Willner said that he has mixed emotions surrounding this being his last concert.
“It feels like just another concert,” Willner said. “Because we’re doing all this preparing and everything. But I also feel weird about it being the last concert, [and] I also feel kind of good.”
Sophomore Sophia Rofman said she is not ready for this concert to happen because of the change in the band’s atmosphere without Willner.
“I’m not really looking forward to it [the concert] because I’m not ready for Mr. Willner to leave,” Rofman said. “I like the other band teacher, but the vibe just isn’t going to be the same without him.”
Senior Ami Kaneko said she is happy to have gotten to know Willner well, and is excited to end off the year with him.
“I’m looking forward to just being able to play with everyone, and also, since it’s Mr. Willner’s last year, just being able to celebrate him and his last concert,” Kaneko said. “I’ve been with him since my whole entire freshman year, and just being able to kind of graduate with him is pretty special.”
According to sophomore Victor Chen, the band put in hard work leading up to Thursday to make Willner proud.
“It’s definitely not like every other concert, because Mr. Willner is not really like every other guy,” Chen said. “He’s a special guy. And I can definitely see the band putting in more effort and thought. And [we’re] really trying to perfect these difficult pieces that Mr. Willner chose, especially for his last concert that he’s ever gonna do.”
When reflecting on his time at Paly, Willner said what sets him apart is his teaching style and ability to balance two sides.
“I was able to make things musically strong without taking myself too seriously, I was able to be silly, goofy in class, and the kids that were paying attention knew when it got serious,” Willner said.
Rofman said Willner’s humor lightens the mood and he knows how to make the class enjoyable.
“He is definitely one of my favorite teachers,” Rofman said. “He can make band into something fun and silly, but also serious enough to do well on our pieces. He also feels like more of a friend than other teachers because he’s fun to talk to because of his fun and welcoming atmosphere.”
Willner said that despite this being his last concert, he still wants the focus to be on his students, like any other year.
“This isn’t about me, ” Willner said. “That’s the thing. This concert is about the kids — students in the group, our seniors who are moving on.”
