Since his childhood, Leo Mormile devoted himself to the art of music. He first discovered this interest when he took on the cello at the age of 7. Dedicating much of his time to music, he found comfort in the work it gave him.
“I was always involved in music at school growing up,” Mormile said. “Music was always a constant in my life, whether it was during school, after school ensembles, wherever it was at, I always felt the best and most comfortable in music classes.”
His enthusiasm for music flourished, leading him toward a plethora of instruments, including the other string instruments, the baritone horn and the tuba. Above all, string instruments are what really caught his attention. Mormile continued his musical pursuits through college with the electric and double bass. Consequently, he strove to create that same, comforting classroom environment for others.
“Before West Essex, I was at TCNJ doing my undergraduate degree in music education, primarily focusing on my study in bass,” Mormile said. “I always will remember what my music teachers always did for me, the environment they were able to create for me and being able to express myself through music in these classes is really what pushed me to want to create that kind of environment for other kids.”
With the aid of his experience from his high school marching band, Mormile started out with instructing the Marching Knights at West Essex High School.
“I work with primarily the brass section of the Marching Knights,” Mormile said. “We just placed first in our first competition over at Jefferson Township. We’re always looking to get better. The work never stops, even when we place first. We’re always trying to improve.”
Now, an opportunity for Mormile presents itself when he takes on music teacher Caitlin Koch’s request for an understudy to lead her orchestra classes while she goes on leave.
“I’m learning a lot under her,” Mormile said. “It’s a whole different ball game than what student teaching is. You gotta allow yourself to make mistakes and then learn from them. It’s all about how you bounce back . . . So it’s been great to have the input from a veteran teacher . . . and to be able to apply that to my own development as a teacher.”
Currently working alongside Koch, Mormile is set to take over for her while she’s on maternity leave this autumn. As this year will be his first, official year of teaching, Mormile has big plans to give his soon-to-be students the guidance they need.
“We have a very performance-based expectation that we’re going to get you ready,” Mormile said. “It’s more like, giving them the tools to get there, because they know, for the most part, how to put the bow on the string, play the notes, but we have to give them the tools to actually learn that music that they want, you know, to perform well. It’s all about guiding them to be the best musicians that they can be.”
