Andrew Lewis

As a testament to music educator Drew Lewis’ ability to foster connections with his choir students, in the school yearbook he was voted most likely to tell a bad joke, based on starting each class with “the pun of the day.” Although his main objective is music, Mr. Lewis feels that it is important to build a class culture where his students feel safe and supported, so he gladly allocates a few minutes each day to their social-emotional needs.

After a vocal warm up, Drew works on building music literacy skills. He adds, “The ultimate goal through these pitch and rhythm exercises is to allow them to become independent musicians through reading, internalizing, and creating music.”
Mr. Lewis feels that vocal music is one of the most personal expressions of art, because the singer’s instrument is literally their body. He believes that music helps students build empathy, creativity, self-confidence and critical thinking skills while helping them “find their voice and expand their world view.” Students frequently discuss the historical and cultural context around the songs they learn. And although Mr. Lewis’ music lessons are meticulously planned to specific learning outcomes, he welcomes those teachable moments.
While in college, Drew realized that “sometimes music classes were the lifeline struggling students needed just to keep them engaged in school and on track to graduate.”

Mr. Lewis ensures that every song his students learn in class is a melodic textbook that can teach them about music, history and themselves as human beings. Through song they learn musical concepts such as minor scales, intervals, rhythmic patterns, pitch and much more. He is deliberate about sharing the history of musicians and cultures beyond the Eurocentric norm that is prevalent in music education and invites “culture bearers” to share these histories with his classes. A familiar question he poses to his students is, “What can each piece of music teach us about ourselves, each other, and what it means to be human?”

In essence, Drew Lewis’ overarching philosophy is, “I empower students to connect with music and each other, cultivate moments of transformation throughout the year, and help them to develop skills which enable them to keep making music throughout their lives.