Corrections from print edition 

-Cello was printed instead of high school contra bass clarinet. (line two)
-Drum performances was printed instead of Drum corps. (line 21)
-Mike Wolfe was printed instead of Ken wolfe, seventh grade English teacher. (line 72)
-Platt was printed instead of Platte. (line 75)
-”Greatest influence” was printed instead of “one of the biggest influences.” (line 79)
-2002 printed instead of 2003 in respects to the beginning of Jason Rekittke tenure at KHS. (line 80)

After descending the stage from one of his high school contra bass clarinet performances, Kyle Rieger would be bombarded with compliments, but also one common question. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends and even strangers wanted to know if Rieger saw a future in music, and for most of his middle school and high school music career he thought he knew the answer: “No.”

To Rieger, a 2014 KHS graduate, the music industry was too saturated and competitive to pursue seriously, but in his junior year as a KHS drum major, Rieger started to refocus his life around music. At the time, he was fixated on professional drum corps performances. One day he was watching videos of the performances, in his family room, when his mother approached and questioned him on whether he really did not want to pursue a music career.

“[Music] was something I spent all my time doing,” Rieger said. “Any time I was done with work, school or anything, I was listening, writing and performing music. It was when [my mom questioned me that] I started to seriously consider music as a viable career path. I enjoy sitting on my own and crafting [musical] ideas. It’s the equivalent of what playing with Legos is with music.”

Currently in his senior year at Truman State University, Rieger said he looks to the future in hopes of becoming a musical educator. He believes every student should be free to explore and expand their knowledge of music and strongly emphasizes the importance of music in general education.

“Music as it is right now is only limited to select people,” Rieger said. “There are some students who will pick up an instrument at an early age and progress with it through high school. Others who maybe started too late or don’t have the right musical tool kit will take a musical general education course and be done with it. I want to have a course where I have a band that I teach but also have a songwriting class of students who can’t play an instrument but are still wanting to engage with music. Every student should incorporate some type of musical education in their education. It’s a gateway to an entirely different world.”

Though his time at KHS has passed, Rieger said he still looks back for inspiration. As an aspiring teacher he discovers his past teachers as models of what he aspires to be. Like his seventh-grade English teacher Ken Wolfe who taught an intense middle school English class, or his AP United States History teacher, Steve Platte, who taught him to be passionate about teaching and what he loved or one of his biggest mentors, Jason Rekittke, KHS band director from 2003-2013, who guided him through his high school music career.

“He was musically talented, but I wouldn’t say he started out in the top one percent of [musically talented] students,” Rekittke said. “He worked at it and he was a very serious student. He tried to involve himself in as many musical activities as possible. Needless to say, I’m very proud of the direction he is choosing in his life.”

Although eager to be a future teacher, Rieger has already been guiding the next generation of musicians since his time at KHS. Tim Knight, current KHS drum major, has practiced with Rieger first hand and at band camps at KHS. Impressed by his skill and determination Knight looks up to Rieger for inspiration.

“He knows what he’s doing and [he’s] very good at communicating what he knows,” Knight said. “When he was a drum major at KHS he helped by being a good leader, and now he’s helping us by teaching us how he was successful and how to be successful ourselves.”

Though his motivation fluctuated at times both at KHS and Truman State University Rieger never looks back on the past in regret. He learns from his past failures, and attempts to pass on his experience and enjoyment to the next generation.

“Everyone has to engage with their craft and with life through their own medium,” Rieger said. “One [medium] is not inherently better than another. One way might be faster or more efficient, but as long as you’re enjoying what you are doing and can pass it on to other people you are doing more good in this world than you can possibly know.”