TOWAMENCIN – “It was always music,” said Ted Heller about his interests while attending North Penn High School as a student in the early 80s.

The music department had Heller hooked since 9th grade, and that led him to pursue a career in the field.

“I remember when I was in ninth grade at Pennbrook and the band director from the high school came down and talked to us. From that point on it changed my life forever,” said Heller.

Now, after directing for 16 years at North Penn High School and the last 11 years at Penndale Middle School, Heller will be returning to the high school to fill the position of director of the Marching Knights, following the resignation of Mike Britcher. Ever since Heller graduated high school, his dedication and commitment to music has helped shape his career as a band director.

Following his passion, after graduating high school in 1982, Heller attended Temple University where he received a degree in Music Education.

When he graduated from Temple in 1987, Heller had the opportunity to begin his career back where is music passions began, North Penn. The sitting band director, Stephen Frederick, was working on administrative assignments which allowed Heller to act as a long term sub for half of the school year. Heller then worked for a year at Pennfield Middle school before he made his debut as  the new high school band director in 1990.

At the time, they band program was thriving, making the first years of Heller’s position an easy transition.

“I was following a legend. [Mr. Frederick] set it up so that I could not fail, so I just followed his footsteps and put my own ‘Ted Heller’ twist to it,” said Heller.

For 16 years, Heller was the heart of the North Penn music department.

However, at that point in his life, Heller’s sons’ were growing up, and the time consuming responsibilities of directing high school band and the Marching Knights were taxing on his family life. In order to accommodate his needs, Heller stepped down from being the director at North Penn and moved to Penndale Middle School.  At first, the transition was a major career shock.

“It was really a shot to my ego,” joked Heller, “when you are the high school band director, going to a middle school is a very big change.”

At Penndale he was able to spend more time with his family while still being involved with music in the North Penn School District.  This allowed him to realize the benefits of balancing his family and his work.

“I realized that I was spending time more time with my kids. I was able to do everything with them, so I got over the transition,” said Heller.

While at Penndale, Heller was able to slow his pace down and become more involved with the students and staff at the school.  Heller not only spent his time with the music department, but with Penndale Television and the North Penn Golf Team. At Penndale, Heller also had time for self reflection- something he rarely had time to do while at the high school.

“At the middle school things were slower and I got to work more closely with the staff and principals. I also realized that I am a good teacher. I didn’t get to realize that when I was running around at the high school,” said Heller.

But after 11 years at Penndale, with one son graduated college, and the other one about to graduate, Heller realized that he could contribute more to the music department at North Penn.

“I was sitting at home and I just couldn’t sit still. I wanted to keep doing something, and I believed that I could make a difference in the North Penn music program,” said Heller.

With Britcher’s resignation, Heller now has the chance to come back to the high school to direct the band and the Marching Knights.

“There are totally different challenges to face compared to the last time I was at the high school,” said Heller.

One of the biggest challenges Heller plans to face is how to combat the busy schedules of teenagers in 2017. He used badminton as an example to explain how time consuming other extracurriculars are for students.

“Let’s say there was a badminton team. Well, the badminton team now not only has a busy season, but it has training all year long. You lose a lot of kids who can’t make a commitment to music programs,” said Heller, “It is frustrating, but I am here to work with that challenge.”

Heller believes that a change is needed at the high school, and his plan is to bring back the fundamentals of the system he had in 1990. Along with considerations to accommodate the busy schedules of today’s average student, Heller is confident that his formula will be the perfect fit.

“I know there is a certain formula for success for the Marching Knights, and I want to bring the formula back,” said Heller.

Heller has been at North Penn since high school as a young musician himself, so he brings a unique perspective to the table when it comes to the new schedule.

“I’m changing the schedule to a process that not only worked for me as a director, but as a student when I was at North Penn,” said Heller.

Heller is now beginning the transition to becoming the new band director, and so far it has been a smooth process. While he was nervous about breaking the news to the young musicians at Penndale, he received a positive response about the change.

“At first I thought I was going to have to break out the tissues,” joked Heller, “I though the younger kids would be upset, but they just cheering because they will be stuck with me for another three years.”

As for the students at Pennfield and Pennbrook, Heller has already been working with them to build a relationship for his next year.

“I’ve already started spending time with the kids at the other middle schools because I want them to get comfortable with my teaching style. I want to talk to kids to get them excited about the high school,” said Heller.

As everyone gets excited about the new change, Heller is getting ready for his new position.  He believes that his previous experience will make the transition a smooth one.

“It is an added commitment, but it is not an added stress because I am better prepared this time,” said Heller.