School District of South Orange and Maplewood

COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL

17 Parker Avenue Maplewood, New Jersey 07040
973-762-5600 fax: 973-378-7607

Peter F. Bauer, Director of Bands

Ext. 1183

Email: pbauer@somsd.k12.nj.us

To whom it may concern:

It gives me great pleasure to write this letter of recommendation on behalf of Owen Davitt. I
have had the pleasure of knowing Owen for almost two years now and was fortunate enough to have
him assigned to me as a student teacher during the spring of 2016. It has been a joy to watch him grow
not only as a musician but as a confident, competent, and successful young teacher.
Owen came to Columbia with an already established reputation as an outstanding musician,
composer, and talent. His undergraduate professors and contemporaries lauded his ability as an oboist,
and with his ability as a pianist, organist, singer, and composer he was uniquely qualified to have an
outstanding student teaching experience. He completed his fieldwork in the fall of 2015, during which
time he was given some time conducting some of our ensembles. This is an opportunity that Owen
accepted cheerfully, and it gave him a chance to begin to establish an important connection with the
students with whom he would be working. Owen arrived for his students teaching assignment excited
and ready to go, and in no time he was working hard organizing and conducting rehearsals for each of
our five periods of band class. He acclimated to our daily routines seamlessly, and even though he had a
great deal of repertoire to study and learn for the ensemble rehearsals, he did so methodically and
carefully so as not to detract from providing an exceptional experience for his students. He connected
quickly with all of the students to the point where he was no longer viewed as a student teacher, but
rather as a full time member of our faculty. His innate knowledge of and experience with music allowed
him to navigate the waters of a high school band rehearsal with confidence and ease. He would
regularly ask questions about the repertoire, teaching practices, and cheerfully accepted constructive
comments related to his teaching, even when it was done in front of the students. He entrenched himself
in every aspect of our program by attending events outside the school day such as region honors
ensemble auditions, county band rehearsals, region band festival adjudications, and other such activities
that while not required of him to attend he did anyway because he wanted to learn as much as he could
about the profession. This drive to continually better himself as a teacher, coupled with his outstanding
sense as musician, makes Owen uniquely qualified to be a public school music teacher in any school or
district fortunate enough to have him apply.
I consider myself fortunate to have worked with Owen Davitt this spring and recommend that he
be hired as a music teacher without hesitation or reservation. If necessary I would be happy to discuss
his qualifications further at any time. Thank you for your time and consideration of this outstanding
musician and teacher.
Sincerely,
Peter F. Bauer
Director of Bands
A 2008 GRAMMY Signature Schools Gibson Grant Award Recipient
2009, 2013, 2015, & 2016 NAMM Best Community for Music Education
A New Jersey Model School for the Arts