Students were stunned and saddened to learn that a beloved music teacher at Oxford High School unexpectedly tendered his resignation last week.
‘I was shocked,? said senior Parker Colling, a drummer in jazz band. ‘He told us that he wasn’t going to retire for years. He loved being a teacher.?
Gary Ashton, who had been teaching with the district since August 2001, resigned for personal reasons, according to OHS Principal Mike Schweig.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed my years in Oxford,? Ashton said. ‘Oxford students are great kids, absolutely. They’re easy to work with, excited, eager to learn. It was a great environment for me to use music as a vehicle to reach out to the kids in the community.?
Parents and students alike were distressed over Ashton’s sudden exit.
‘It is truly a sad day for the Oxford bands to hear that they have lost Gary Ashton as a teacher,? said parent Dianna Bivens. ‘He is a great inspiration, mentor, teacher and friend to my son, John, and to so many others. I will always be grateful to him.?
Ashton taught marching band (drum line), jazz band and jazz combo (both of which he founded), guitar, music theory and composition, and exploring music classes.
‘Not many other places can boast of 55 kids in a jazz band let alone 180 kids going through guitar classes, music theory, music appreciation and everything that Oxford has to offer,? he said. ‘I’m very proud of the fact that I was a small part in developing that.?
Despite his modesty, Ashton’s students certainly didn’t consider him a ‘small part? of the music program.
‘He was one of those people that just made learning fun,? said junior Bill Penley, who plays alto saxophone with the jazz band. ‘I really enjoyed all the classes I had with him.?
Penley noted that Ashton taught him a lot about what life is like in the real world for a professional musician.
‘Mr. Ashton was a funny, kind, charismatic man whose passion to teach music bled through every pore of his body,? said Peter Banachowski, a 2006 OHS graduate who was in jazz band for four years. ‘At six (o’clock) in the morning (when jazz band met), he could get the class rolling with laughter.?
Colling said he was ‘one of the best teachers in the school? because ‘he strives to make everyone better.?
‘I was there for the kids,? Ashton said. ‘I wanted the kids to find joy in music, whether it was in regular band (class) or in playing guitar or playing jazz. My goal was always to give the kids as much of an opportunity to make music a part of their lives as I could.?
It’s doubtful students will ever forget the time he helped arrange for Marlon Young, lead guitarist in Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker band, to visit his guitar class and jam with students.
Or that students in the jazz combo, a select group of upperclassmen, will ever forget performing for folks at the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor or the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Detroit.
Drummer John Bivens, a 2009 OHS graduate, will always remember going to New York City with the school band. He and a friend ‘made the whole band very late one day.?
?(Band Director Jim) Gibbons told us we would have to stay with Mr. Ashton for the rest of the day as punishment,? Bivens said. ‘Mr. Ashton was a blast and took us to Sam Ash Music Store. We had the best time.?
Ashton’s influence extended well beyond the academic realm with many of his students.
‘He was more of a best friend than a teacher,? said sophomore Arin Bisaro, a drummer in marching band. ‘He was always a good guy to be around.?
‘He was someone that you could talk to,? Penley noted.
‘He taught me lessons at home and at school. He was the best,? Bivens said.
‘Anything I could ever do to help the kids, that was always my Number One goal,? Ashton said.
Banachowski recalled that once he got to jam with Ashton, who played the drums, at a gig in Lake Orion. To commemorate the event, Banachowski had a photo of Ashton playing blown up and gave it to him as a going-away present.
‘It was the only time I got to jam with my mentor,? Banachowski said. ‘I loved (the photo) so much I made a copy and hung that poster on my bedroom wall. Most kids hang posters of movie stars, bands or personal heroes on their walls. To me, Mr. Ashton was my own little hero. He will be greatly missed.?
Without Ashton there to guide the jazz band, Colling fears ‘it’s going to go straight downhill.?
‘No one can fill his shoes,? he said.