You have to genuinely care about your students and believe in their ability to learn. As a teacher, you must be kind and patient with your student and be willing to help him solve his problems.

I am going to tell you about the most compassionate teacher I know. His name is William “Bill” Whitson.. What was special about Mr. Whitson? He had a burning passion to share his knowledge of playing the violin with you. He had a kindness and patience that directed his students.

When did I meet Mr. William Whitson?

The summer I was eight, my mom, Romayne Leader Frank, arranged for me to take violin lessons with Mr. Whitson.

Mr. Whitson was Mom’s last hope. She had tried every type of reading class available and still I couldn’t read.

What was my first impression of Mr. Whitson as an 8-year-old boy?

Mr. Whitson was a tall, handsome young man, who looked at me with a big smile, with a bright light shining in his eyes, saying without saying a word, you can be a good student, and I’ll show you how.

His positive attitude just shone on him. I was in the army. I didn’t know at the time that he was only 23 years old.

He seemed delighted to be teaching me. It was the first time I had a teacher who smiled and seemed to really like me and wanted to teach me. My first impression of Mr. Whitson is the best example of what a teacher should be.

In our first lesson, Mr. Whitson taught me how to hold the violin, how to hold the bow, how to read the notes on the music page, and where to put the fingers on the violin to play the theme for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He also taught me to maintain the violin and bow and to clean them after playing; wiping the rosin from the violin and bow with a soft cotton cloth.

When Mr. Whitson and I finished my first violin lesson, I asked my mom to take me to the library. I wanted to read everything about Beethoven.

You see, Mr. Whitson did the impossible. By teaching me to play the violin, he taught me to read the musical notes on the page, which parallels reading a book. That summer the light was turned on and I began my journey of playing the violin and learning to read.

During the summer, Mr. Whitson would give me a violin lesson and then he and my dad, Dr. Robert J. Frank, would go fly-fishing on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They always had a great time and we had great dinners during those summers.

Mr. Whitson asked my parents if I could attend his chamber music concert. My parents agreed and we rode in their car, a 1957 Corvette, with another musician, a French showgirl, named Mrs. Linda. The Chamber Music concert was wonderful. It was the first time that I attended a classical music concert, where we listened to a piano trio for violin, French horn and piano. It was a great concert. The three musicians played very well together. I also enjoyed the ride to and from Mr. Whitson’s Thunderbird concert.

I studied with Mr. Whitson for 2 years until he completed his military service and returned to Palo Alto, California to found his Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, where he was music director and conductor for 37 years.

Thanks to Mr. Whitson I became a good student at school and continued to play and study the violin. At 17, I played for the first time at Carnegie Hall and obtained two degrees from the Juilliard School, where Mr. Whitson had also studied. I performed with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, performed concerts with Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Natalie Cole, and performed concerts and recitals around the world, as well as teaching as a visiting professor. Later I obtained a PhD in Administration / Management with an emphasis on Total Quality Management.

Mr. William Whitson made all of this possible because of his faith in my ability, even when I had no faith in myself and could not read. I still remember when I was an 8 year old, Mr. Whitson looking at me with his bright, sparkling eyes saying, without saying a word, you can learn to read and be a good student, and I will show you how!

Many years later, in the summer of 1990, Mr. Whitson asked me to be a chamber music coach and to give a masterclass for his viola students at his Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra summer camp. I was honored to be training and teaching his students just as he had taught me so many years ago. Due to his love and passion for teaching and playing chamber music and working with his students, I have spent many wonderful years patiently and kindly teaching students as well.

Some of these students also could not read and thanks to Mr. Whitson’s excellent example as a teacher, I was able to teach them to read and become good students by playing the violin, viola or cello.

Mr. William “Bill” Whitson taught for over 40 years, won many awards, and made a difference in the lives of many students. He taught his students to live with excellence, to be the best people they could be, and to share his love of music with others. His legacy has no limits. Its many alumni are playing and teaching around the world and I am proud to be one of them. With Mr. Whitson nothing was impossible.

What 3 things did Mr. William Whitson teach me about teaching students?

1) As a teacher he taught me to be kind and patient with each student. Your students need to know that you care about them and believe in them.

2) Always have a big smile on your face, a bright light in your eyes, and have a positive attitude, and make it fun and engaging to learn.

3) Become an expert in your field, never stop studying and learning and always be ready to help others. Dr Georgi Lozanov, father of accelerated learning said, “Learning is a matter of attitude, not aptitude.”

Remember that for Mr. Whitson nothing was impossible.

What 3 lessons did Mr. William “Bill” Whitson teach his students that benefited us all of our lives?

1) How to focus, be disciplined, be cooperative, stay motivated and how to work as a team.

2) How to take care of our violins, violas, cellos or basses, which taught us self-esteem and self-esteem.

3) Reading musical notes on the page taught us to read the words in a book.

William Whitson passed away on August 8, 2001. His family, his students, and his friends were blessed to meet such a wonderful and compassionate person who shared his passion for learning and playing classical music. His legacy lives on through the many students he trained to be excellent teachers, musicians, conductors, and compassionate thinkers.