By Lucy Hurlbut ‘14

After having worked closely with music teachers Bill Evans and Alex Silverbook during his teaching internship back in 2008, Michael Maddox is thrilled to be back at Sherwood working as a full-time music teacher. While interning, Maddox helped out with the chambers singers, electronic music classes and the jazz classes.
“Mr. Evans and I got along really well while I was student teaching, so it’s been a while hoping to teach here and now I finally am,” said Maddox. Currently, he teaches piano, guitar, women’s choir, jazz choir, AP Music Theory, and sponsors the acapella group that meets every Wednesday during lunch.
With lots of experience gained from teaching different types of music classes at his previous two teaching jobs, Maddox was ready to come back to Sherwood. This also meant he would become a major contributor to Sherwood’s biggest production, Rock ‘n’ Roll.
“I saw the show in 2009 and I saw it last year, so I know how huge and awesome it is, but being a part of it … it’s been interesting to see exactly how it’s all put together and what the scheduling’s like,” Maddox explained.
From the moment rehearsals began back in January to the last dress rehearsal Wednesday, Maddox has been very dedicated to his specific role in bringing the show to the stage. “I’m in charge of vocal backgrounds. I’ve spent many hours of the last few month[s] transcribing harmonies off of the recordings so that I can teach them to the background vocalists,” he said. Maddox will continue to help with harmonies throughout the two weeks of performances which begin March 7. Maddox has enjoyed working with Evans, Silverbook and all the students in the cast of Rock n’ Roll and it means a lot to him to be a part of such a great show.
So far, this music teaching job has kept Maddox very busy, but having students who really care about music has definitely made it worth all the time and hard work. “Kids at Sherwood are extremely talented. They’re dedicated, polite, friendly and enthusiastic. I love working with them,” he explained.
However, Maddox’s respect and positive attitude towards his students is reciprocal. “He’s incredibly attentive and infinitely patient with his students … has a great sense of humor … laid-back but very educational … down to earth and really connects with his students and cares about them,” said junior Nicole Lado, a student in his women’s choir and guitar class.
Having this strong connection with the music students and music teachers alike will help him carry through what will hopefully be many more years working here at Sherwood. He and Silverbook will continue the long tradition of putting on Rock ‘n’ Roll each year as Evans prepares to retire in the coming years.