Kim Bain, who taught band at Pizitz Middle School from 2005-2021, was recently selected as one of the Vestavia Hills City Schools (VHCS) Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductees. This prestigious honor is only bestowed upon faculty-nominated, board-approved candidates who have made significant strides to impact the lives of their fellow educators and students in the Vestavia Hills community. Here, Kim offers her gratitude for this recognition.
How does it feel to have been accepted into the Hall of Fame?
I am rarely speechless. Rarely, rarely. I have such huge respect for the teachers and for the families of the community, and the fact that they offered me an opportunity to teach their children for 16 years is an honor.
Why did you want to go into music education?
I love children! I had always had a huge interest in music. The two just go together. I think it’s not just enough to love playing or love music. You’ve got to have that interest in kids and what’s best for them as well. Since I’ve retired, I’ve worked for a semester or two with the University of Alabama and with Samford University, observing teacher interns. I always tell my interns, ‘It’s not enough just to love music. You have to love working with the kids, too.’
Where did your passion for music originate?
I really do not come from a musical family. My grandmother played piano by ear, played hymns and I first started studying piano when I was about in the third grade and just kind of took to it. That’s what I love about it. The successful band programs in the VHCS system give kids a place to thrive. Every kid needs a place to thrive. Not everybody is a gifted academic or a gifted athlete, and we need to provide opportunities for students in the arts as well so everybody can find his niche. Luckily, I had that growing up, I’m so proud to have been a part of the system that’s trying to help everyone find his place.
How can music help one improve in other areas of life such as academics?
We always talk about that being one of the reasons for students to take band in their middle school and high school years–the discipline that it provides. In order to be a successful musician, it’s not just what you do on campus during that 50-minute class period. It’s the preparation that goes into it prior to class. You learn your part, and then when you come to school and you’re sitting in rehearsal, you learn what everybody else has and how your part fits with their part. To me, that is such a great life lesson because when you get out in the workforce and for most students, that’s non-musical, you have to find how what you’re doing fits in with others in that work environment. I think it is a huge life lesson to learn teamwork and how you are obligated individually to come prepared and to bring your best every day. What you’re putting forth in rehearsal not only lifts you up, but also lifts up others.
What classroom memory really solidified your purpose as an educator?
The Midwest International Band and Orchestra Conference is held in Chicago, Illinois, every year, and it is like the Super Bowl for school bands. That performance in 2015 was the highlight of my career. It’s like a bucket list to check off. We’re the only middle school band in the state of Alabama to have ever been accepted to perform at something of that caliber. The joy I got out of it was watching the kids have so much fun.
