As classes get out and students make their way to the Commons for snack, the sweet sound of piano music pours out of the music room and fills the campus.
The enchanting sound comes from the talented hands of none other than OVS’s new music teacher Adam Woll, an award-winning UCSD graduate who’s been playing music for nearly as long as he could walk.
Mr. Woll, a 2014 alum of the Lower Campus, teaches five classes including music theory and composition, introduction to music making, piano, performing arts, and garage band.
Mr. Woll started his musical career at the age of four with piano classes, and he and his brother took piano lessons for nearly two decades. He also took up the viola in the fifth grade.
“But over the years, my inspirations began to change. I think my brother was a huge influence for me, my piano teacher as well,” said Mr. Woll, adding that Lower Campus music teacher was, and still is, one of his greatest influences.
“Finding artists that I find really, really fascinating and they continue to be my inspiration so people like Bill Evans Tom Misch,” said Mr. Woll. “There are just so many artists that have a unique way of looking at music and they provide such a unique opportunity to study and to emulate.”
His love for music is apparent, not only in the way he talks about it but in the passion he brings to teaching. He played at Nordhoff High School, taking part in a variety of musical activities including the orchestra, jazz band and a player in the pit for school musicals.
In college at UC San Diego, he majored in music with an emphasis in jazz piano performance.
While there, he was awarded The Cheetham prize in recognition of his efforts in both the jazz band and in department service, which in his case would be being the leader of his jazz band.
He would also dedicate time to notate, transcribe, and arrange songs his band wanted to play. His jazz band struggled with finding sheet music so Mr. Woll and his professor had to find a way to do it on their own.
“A lot of the songs that we chose for our band were songs that were not very popular, which means they didn’t have sheet music,” he said. “So we had to make that sheet music ourselves.”
Only one person wins this award every year, and if you’ve ever heard Mr. Woll improvise you know it was well deserved.
Although he is a new teacher he is not new to teaching. He has been teaching at the Lower Campus for six years. He started off teaching robotics before eventually making his way to the Upper Campus.
Not only is he a music enthusiast, his passions also include soccer and exercise. For this winter sports season Mr. Woll will be able to be seen in action on the field as the new boys soccer coach.
“I want to bring a sense of excitement, especially about soccer,” Mr. Woll said “That is also one of my passions, and I believe it’s many students’ passions, and I want to continue that.”
He brings passion to everything he does.
Senior Ifu Kubo, who is in Mr. Woll’s Music Theory and piano classes, plans on attending a music college next year, and says the expanded music offerings at the Upper Campus come at just the right time.
“He is really calm, he is really respectful and he is a really gentle teacher,” Ifu said.
Whether it be a quick jam session during flex or a quick jazz improvisation session during snack, Mr. Woll is always there to support his students.
“I want to bring joy and knowledge in the form of music,” Mr. Woll said.