Dykema finds her niche as band teacher

When walking up to the director’s podium every day, band teacher Emily (Larson) Dykema strives to help her students at Alan B. Shepard Middle School in Deerfield, Ill., learn and grow as musicians.
While growing up in Aurora, Larson dedicated most of her high school years to participating in the school’s band program through her graduation in 2008. (She is the daughter of Karl and Tina Larson of Aurora.)
“I played a lot of different instruments starting off in high school and I really enjoyed playing them,” Dykema said. “That kind of started me on the path of considering being a teacher.”
It wasn’t until she was studying chemistry at Nebraska Wesleyan University that she realized music education was her true calling.
“I missed playing my instrument and being part of music,” she stated. “I was inspired by my high school band director, Mr. (Dan) Sodomka and I just realized how valuable that experience was for me and I wanted to be able to offer that to kids.”
Transferring to North Park University in Chicago to pursue music education, she began her teaching career in Deerfield in 2014.
“I actually started off teaching general music and choir at one of the elementary schools in my student instructing,” Dykema noted. “A band opening came about where I was able to move into the beginning band role and eventually into the middle school role.”
Around this time, she worked as an assistant band director for a high school in Glenview, Ill., particularly assisting students in marching band and jazz band until 2018.
“It was really eye-opening to the world of high school band around the area that I currently live,” she said.
Dykema said while she initially was expecting to become a full-time high school band director like Sodomka things changed.
“I went into my undergrad saying that I wanted to teach high school and there was no way you would ever find me in a middle school,” she commented. “Of course, this is where I teach now. This is actually where I enjoy teaching and it’s nice to be able to learn new things about yourself.”
Dykema said the most important thing she has learned since becoming a band director is how much time and effort is needed to help students succeed.
“I think anything with teaching, but especially teaching band, there’s so much that happens behind the scenes or in preparation for teaching,” Dykema stated. “Like things that go into setups for concerts or giving kids extra lessons now and then, choosing music and adapting music for different levels of kids so that everyone’s able to participate. Those are things that I think go unnoticed.”
“Each year, I find myself getting a little better and being able to plan a little bit better ahead,” she continued. “But there’s a lot of hidden stuff that people don’t see that once you get into it, you’re like ‘Oh wow, I didn’t realize how much work went into this to make it a good experience,’ but it’s really rewarding, too.”
“It takes a little bit of learning on the job, because it’s impossible to get that type of experience in like four or five years of undergrad,” Dykema said. “But it’s actually been great, because no matter what level I find myself, now I can look back on my experience teaching at either the previous level or future levels.” 
Dykema continued to expand her teaching experience in 2022, when she became an instructor for a woodwinds method course at North Park University.
“It’s really fun to be able to do that and work with college students who are preparing to go into the world of education and help them learn instruments,” she said. “But also to talk to them about what education looks like now and I help them hopefully be better teachers.”
As she entered her 11th year of being a band teacher, Dykema expressed joy in seeing how far her former students have grown as musicians and people.
“The best experience for me is going to the final culminating senior concert for the kids that I started on instruments,” she said. “Seeing where they end up and what they’re doing and how band has been that fulfilling experience that I get to bring to kids. That’s why I went into teaching.”
In addition to her teaching, Dykema has also participated in community bands, such as Mount Prospect Community Band and the North Park Concert Band. 
“The demands of teaching kind of take away from the time of performing,” she commented. “Sometimes I miss it, but I’m not performing as much as I used to.”
Dykema lives in Glenview with her husband, Joel and their 3-year-old son, James.
“We spend a lot of our weekends hanging out as a family,” she said.
Recently, Dykema made a trip back to Aurora to visit her family. During that visit she was able to catch up with her former band teacher who is now a colleague.
“I still call him Mr. Sodomka, even though I know we are officially colleagues as of 12 years ago,” Dykema commented. “It’s always fun to be able to talk with him and we were able to get together and talk shop a little bit. I think that’s a lot more fun to also understand a little bit more about what he does that I maybe didn’t when I was a student.”
“It feels like a full circle moment and it’s just really fun to be able to connect with families over the course of multiple years and hear about how those kids are now doing in college, which makes me feel old,” she commented. “But it’s also very rewarding to be able to hear about the kinds of people they’re becoming.”