Band Stories - Spring-Ford Alumna Lauren Exley

In 2005, the Golden Ram Marching Band came so close to breaking the top five in the competition for the Atlantic Coast Championship. At the end of the day, they came in sixth - disappointed that their hard work did not pay off.

So, when 2006 rolled around and it was time to choose a drum major, the band chose Lauren Exley, a junior.

“Really? Me? Can I do this?” Exley said, not knowing that this would be the year the band would win its first of five ACC's.

Exley attributed hard work and focus to the deed, and said the disappointment of years past motivated the band to go for the win, but she was still humble in her efforts.

"We came out on top and it was really one of the highlights of my experiences with the band," she said. "I remember standing there at the end, I turned around and gave my salute and saw everyone smiling in amazement at what we just accomplished. I remember feeling like I got to watch them do that. I barely did anything. They did all the work. It was great to see my friends do this amazing thing and I just get to be a part of it."

Exley would be one of two drum majors in her senior year and saw another ACC title before she graduated in the spring of 2008. She went on to study at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.

Her 12-plus-hour days at Spring-Ford, sometimes participating in seven to eight different ensemble rehearsals led the driven college-bound girl to her goals of music education.

The college is a small music conservatory, consisting of about 300-350 undergraduate students and 50-100 graduate students. The only concentrations offered are piano, organ or voice. Exley focuses on piano and has her senior recital on Dec. 3. While she prepares for that, she also looks forward to student teaching at this January.

"I’m very close to Mary Mundy, the music teacher there," Exley said. "It’s such a great program and a wonderful school. I knew it would be a fantastic opportunity. She has a lot of credibility. She’s nationally certified and she’s one of a handful in the state. I knew I couldn’t let go of the opportunity to work with her, so I worked it out with the head of the department and they’re having me go there."

Through Exley's time at college, she has had to go through vigorous introductory education classes during her freshman and sophomore years, later getting experience in the field in her junior and senior years. She's performed in a choral ensemble with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center and on top of that has had to do regular lessons. All of that has paid off in her new opportunity to teach.

"You spend three and a half years with your face pressed against the glass window just waiting for the opportunity to really just get your hands dirty and teach," said Exley. "You have a little experience here and there, but for me, teaching brings me such joy. I cannot wait to get in the classroom.

"My goal as a teacher is to focus on the kids to be as creative and use as much self-expression as possible with music, because music takes you and you can express thingsi n music that you can’t express in words. For some kids, it’s the only thing that they get to express their needs, desires and feelings. It’s important that every child has the opportunity. Seeing them succeed – and any child can succeed – will be great."

Overall, Exley wants to stress the importance of music in a young person's life and for the parents and community to support the schools' music programs.

"Not every kid is going to shine in academics or sports," she concluded. "Some kids need music in their lives. It’s just such an important part of finding out who you are. It opens up doors to students where they feel they can be successful and it flows right into college. As they leave college, they can enter the workforce knowing they have gifts and something they can offer to the world."