Popular music teacher to retire




Harry Leff

Harry Leff


Harry Leff, music director at A.E. Wright Middle School, has inspired many careers in the music world. Some of his former students have earned master’s degrees at Juilliard, joined the California State University Northridge Youth Chamber Orchestra or have even become music directors themselves.

Leff has sparked an appreciation for the art of sound in thousands of students by using calm and understanding teaching techniques.

“Mr. Leff has had a profound impact on so many students. He single-handedly changed students’ lives for the better by giving them a greater appreciation of music. He is truly a special teacher,” said Joshua Barroll, a former student and the music director at Calabasas High School.

After teaching music to middle school students for 36 years in the Las Virgenes Unified School District at both Lindero Canyon and A.E.Wright, Leff will retire in June. A tribute concert will be held at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks on May 4, commemorating Leff’s contributions to the learning community. Previous students and colleagues are expected to perform at the event.

Leff attributes his earliest love for music to Perez “Prez” Prado’s 1955 recording “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” which he remembers hearing as a child in his New York home, but he says his true inspiration came from his middle school teacher Tommy Johnson.

“I have no doubt that (I wanted to become a teacher) because of (Johnson). A lot of my teaching styles I copy from him. He was always very calm, supportive and very knowledgeable,” Leff said..

Leff has used those teaching techniques in his class while still incorporating his personal philosophy of what he hopes to accomplish each school year. “The only thing that is constant in my teaching methods is my philosophy. . . . I just want my students to walk away better, and that to me is more important than anything else.”

To his students, Leff is an inspiration and a model musician. Former A.E. Wright students still use the techniques taught in his class.

“Mr. Leff really taught us the fundamentals to help us in both music and the real world. . . . We’ve all looked up to him at one point or another,” said Annie Nam, Calabasas High senior flutist and a member of the CSUN Youth Orchestra. “Saying he is an inspiration to his students is an understatement. . . . He is worth so much more than being labeled as just ‘inspiration.'”

CHS graduate Avi Bialo said it was Leff’s teachings that contributed to his current success as a grad student at Juilliard. Bialo is also an alumnus of Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

“Mr. Leff’s guidance and teaching set the foundation for my career as a trumpet player,” Bialo said. “He saw potential in me and challenged me to excel. I am forever grateful to Mr. Leff for his inspiration, passion and dedication.”

Despite the benefits of teaching in LVUSD for more than three decades, Leff said his biggest compensation is when former students return to visit their first music teacher.

“The biggest reward is, years after the kids are gone, they come back and they are good people,” said Leff.

Though students and colleagues are saddened to see him leave, Leff is excited about his retirement and the possibilities it will bring.

“My plan is to get up in the morning, have a big cup of coffee and read the paper cover to cover. And what happens after that, we’ll play it by ear. I also plan to spend more time with my family,” said Leff. “When you’re a teacher, your life is so scheduled. I enjoy not knowing what I’m going to do at 9:05 in the morning.”

With his final concert only a month away, Leff feels he is ready to move on to the next stage of his life.

“As (my retirement) gets closer, a lot of memories pop up, but I’m not sad because it’s time for me to do this. . . . I’m ready for it. I’ve had a good run,” said Leff. “Think of it as a clock. When the hands of the clock get to 12, it’s the end of a day, beginning of another.”

Emily Graham is a senior at Calabasas High School and writes for the school newspaper. She was a student of Harry Leff’s when she attended A.E. Wright Middle School.

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