“Music can change the world because it can change people,” said Ludwig van Beethoven.
Mr. Danny L. Santos, the Landstown High School orchestra and guitar club conductor, expresses this quote daily with his students, whether it’s in orchestra or guitar class.
He was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Initially, he went to Old Dominion University to get his bachelor’s degree in music education, and then to the University of Central Florida for his master’s degree in conducting.
His music career started in high school when he started to play the saxophone and bass guitar. Having a background in band led Mr. Santos to the idea of wanting to conduct a band.
“I didn’t realize what I wanted to do with my life in terms of going to college,” Mr. Santos states.
It wasn’t until one of his close friends suggested that he look into being a conductor for a band that he started looking for conducting jobs in Virginia.
“About sophomore year, I started getting into more leadership roles,” Mr. Santos says.
Mr. Santos teaches four different orchestras that are aligned so that different students with different skill sets can fit into what is being conducted or taught.
“One of my philosophies was to give some of the experiences that I was able to experience when I was a kid to my students,” he explains. “I would really love to continue teaching, and I see myself doing this until I retire.”
Despite only working at Landstown for only four and a half years, Mr. Santos has been an amazing teacher to many students and many students to come.
Madison Tripp, a freshman student at Landstown High School, states, “Mr. Santos is better than my last teacher because he doesn’t choose favorites, and he can be uptight sometimes, but he is also just a chill guy.”
Amaya Rippley, a sophomore student at Landstown High School, states, “He lets me talk about all my drama and he listens like such a good girl boss.”
For his part, Mr. Santos asserts that, “I also want the best out of you and I hope you want the best out of yourself. I like teaching and helping people and I have always grown to that.”
“One of my favorite things was my first time hosting the concert assessments, and all of the kids and staff were so amazing.”
As a teacher, Mr. Santos is a perfect combination of strict and cheerful. The energy he brings to the classroom is uplifting and makes it easy to communicate with the class and the teacher.
Many of his students would like to come back next year because of his teaching style and motivation.
“Music is a universal language that anyone can communicate and learn how to speak it,” Santos argues.
