The classroom door briskly opened in the midst of watching Mrs. Green solve for X. The first words I ever heard Mr. Pancheri say were “I need Mike Miller.” I recognized him as the orchestra teacher, but I wasn’t in orchestra. I nervously raised my hand. He turned towards me and said “please gather your things and come with me.” My pulse accelerated from andante to allegro (I wasn’t in orchestra, but I was in band). Once in the relative privacy of the hall he assured me that everything was fine, but he needed my help. I foolishly replied “yes Sir” before any details were revealed.

As we quickly walked the long hall towards the cafeteria, he explained that the drummer that was supposed to be performing with the orchestra would not be able to make it. My pulse went back up… this time to Presto! He further explained that I would be playing the drum set. I didn’t even have a drum set at the time. I had banged around on my neighbors drums every chance I got, but that was only a handful of times. As we entered the cafeteria I saw that it had been converted from lunch mode to concert mode seating. A stunning set of drums that would have been my Christmas morning dream come true sat conspicuously unattended amidst the Jr. High orchestra and too many students and parents to count.

Every head turned as I silently struggled to wake up from this God forsaken nightmare. There was no hiding from every eye that was on me as I quickly lowered the seat and scooted it forward for my shorter arms and legs. I stepped on the hi hat awkwardly creating a clanging of the cymbals. I felt my face flush blood red and then gently stepped on it as Mr. Pancheri announced that “we are sorry for the delay, but ladies and gentlemen we are fortunate to have Mike Miller, 1st chair percussion student pinch hit on the drums today!” I quickly glanced out as they clapped, but it made me feel like I was falling. I quickly turned back to Mr. Pancheri. His face was looking directly at me without any sign of concern. I wondered if he was oblivious or evil.

The music was on the stand in front of me and I recognized a couple of the titles. This was a pops performance which explains the drums. He mouthed are you ready and I nodded exactly as I would years later on my first skydive. He made it as easy as possible for me by lightly tapping his baton against his chest before he started each tune. This was vital to help me get a clean start.

Once we were about 12 bars in, I felt myself begin to calm down. I looked up to see his beautiful face of validation. I swear to anyone reading this… if encouragement had a face, it would be his. Everything that I needed to save me from this nightmare was in his face. He exclaimed “Ladies and Gentlemen!… Mike Miller!” at the end of the first tune and again when we finished the concert.

Trust me, mine was not a perfect performance, but he made my mistakes smaller and my successes larger. Maybe that’s what kindness is.

Many years later, I was setting up a drum set that I had sold to a large church when a couple of men walked into the sanctuary. I overheard them talking about some young musician that played in the church orchestra. I looked out from the partially erected drums and recognized Mr. Pancheri. He was speaking very passionately about providing compensation for her because she was struggling with financial challenges. She had college tuition and her full time job was not meeting her needs. He was lobbying for her and was putting his own money on the line. He was looking for a few other people to match his commitment. He expressly said that it had to be presented to her that the church was paying her. She could never know that it came from them or she would not accept it. They continued to talk as they left and I never intruded. I am certain that he did not recognize me.

On June 9, 2006 I was hired to photograph Encore Strings. I would shoot posed shots of the entire ensemble as well as individual portraits for their website and promotional needs. Much to my surprise, in walks Mr. Pancheri! I only had a few minutes with him, but I am forever grateful that I got to laugh with him and capture these images.

So, what makes a great conductor? Maybe I am not qualified to answer that, but on the day that I needed the best conductor I got Mr. Pancheri. He transformed what could’ve been the worst moments of my Jr. High life into some of the best. So according to me, he was tops. Eat your heart out John Williams.