Chambana Sun

If you have ever heard the organ played in Vermilion County, chances are you have heard Dave Schroeder. Dave is the Bismarck Junior-high/High School choral/band director as well as the organist for Trinity Lutheran, the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, the director of the Municipal Band, the Vermilion County Festival Chorus, rehearsal pianist for DLO Musical Theatre, and the list goes on. He manages to maintain all these rolls as he battles cancer. Dave is 16 chemo treatments into his journey with 4 or 5 more to go.

Dave grew up in Danville. The music lives within his family. His father’s dad played the piano, his great grandfather was the first organist and music teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in 1914. “I consider it an honor that I can make music in the same space he did over 100 years ago,” Schroeder says. His father played the saxophone and the clarinet, and his mother played the piano and organ.

In school, Dave decided he would also play the clarinet, but when he learned he was one of 30 clarinet players he recalls his dad saying, “son, you’ll never hear yourself”. But he was determined, so he started lessons at B&J Music for clarinet, and then started the saxophone, and then his mom showed him where Middle C was on the piano, and he taught himself.

Dave was fascinated by the organ. “I remember racing down the aisle at St. James to watch Oscar Kolb play the postlude and the floor would vibrate and it was really cool.” During the basketball season, he would attend and wait until it got noisy. At that point, he would sneak into the church and turn the organ on and get the feel of how to play it. “They used to always say, ‘Don’t let the kid mess with the organ!’ Now this kid is 63 and is still messing with it.”

Dave attended Eastern Illinois University and the University of Illinois majoring in Music Education and was inspired by so many of his directors. He was the assistant band director at Danville High School until he landed his job in Bismarck. This is now Dave’s 35th year as a music teacher.

When asked why he continues to teach, especially with his current health situation, he answered, “Number one because they say when you love what you do, it’s never really work. I have so much support. It’s made me feel like this is home. The students are key. I feed off of their energy.”

Dave is so impressed with Vermilion County, “When you look at a community our size and see all the arts that we offer here, it’s incredible. There are a bunch of great supportive people of these opportunities to expand your humanity. Whenever people say there’s nothing to do here, they aren’t looking hard enough”.

“I have a genuine love for sharing music with people. It allows a form of expression that words cannot. Seeing the smiles on faces at performances keeps me going. I always tell my students if you see someone without a smile, give them yours.”

Thank you, Dave, for giving the community your incredible gifts. We wish you all the best in your journey and cannot wait until you can ring that bell!