Hopefully, hearing who this week's Portage Life in the Spotlight is will be music to your ears. William Timmerman, the one in charge of the music program at Portage schools, is the man of the week.
Timmerman joined the Portage Music Program as a teacher after he himself was a part of band growing up. He joined band in the 7th grade and graduated from Portage High School. He then attended Ball State and applied for a job at Portage upon graduating.
Timmerman has always enjoyed music, starting from a young age.
"My mom always played the radio and I thought it would be fun to learn to play an instrument," Timmerman said.
However, that is not solely how Timmerman decided to become a director.
"I credit going into music as a profession with my private lessons teacher Dan Pritchett. He was the former band director at Valparaiso High School," Timmerman said. "When I started studying with him, it lit a fire in me and I knew that's what I wanted to do for a living."
Timmerman has multiple titles in the music program now. He teaches various band classes and a music theory class as well as being the Department Coordinator and 6-12 grade Music Coordinator.
"I'm responsible for making sure the music department runs smoothly and I help problem solve when other teachers are having problems," Timmerman said.
On top of working with the regular bands, he also runs the marching band at Portage.
"Technically I'm the head marching band director. My job is to oversee entire marching band and help our staff make sure they're getting their tasks done," Timmerman said of his position in the marching band.
Timmerman believes that music is a very important aspect in school.
"Music is important because not only is it a valid subject on its own, but it opens up pathways in the brain and helps you understand other subjects like math, science and literature. It's all connected," Timmerman said. "Just becoming a full, well rounded person with a music background is a good thing to have."
Timmerman said one of the best things about his job is the chance to work with all the children who pass through the music program.
"Working with kids is the one thing that I love to do. I love sharing my love of music with my students and when they get something, I get a lot of satisfaction out of their success," Timmerman said. "So working with kids is definitely the big thing I enjoy."
Outside of the school day, Timmerman is still highly involved with music. He plays the saxophone by trade but also knows how to play other woodwind instruments. He plays in a lot of different professional bands, both concert and jazz bands. He is also a member of the Northern Indiana Saxophone Quartet and occasionally plays at church.
However, even his life isn't all about music. When not playing or directing, Timmerman enjoys riding motorcycles and watching motorcycle racing. He also loves fishing and considers himself to be a "political geek," and being highly interested in politics.