Beloved music teacher with muscular dystrophy removed as band director

SALEM, N.H. — Patrick Moeschen leads the Woodbury School Band from a motorized wheelchair.

Muscular dystrophy prevents him from using his arms, but it's never stopped him from conducting children.

"He’s been teaching the band in the same way since even when I was in school," said former student Crystal Napoli.

Napoli says she was shocked to learn that this would be Mr. Moeschen's last year with the school's concert band.

He's been reassigned to teach a music appreciation class instead.

"It seems like he was blindsided by the news which does not strike me as something you should do to someone who’s been working in a district for 20-plus years," Napoli said.

The decision is not sitting well with many current and former students.

Parents also believe Mr. Moeschen is getting a bad deal.

"I have also been told the reason why he is being removed as band director is that he can no longer physically conduct the band in a traditional sense," said parent Bev Caro.

Supporters of Moeschen wore T-shirts with his name and held signs outside an eighth-grade band concert.

And then dozens walked down the hall to attend a School Committee meeting in the same building.

"Mr. Moeschen not only helped me become a better musician but he made me a better person as well and I continued to take lessons from him until my sophomore year," said former student Ally Ross.

The school band listened but did not respond to the speakers.

Superintendent Michael Delahanty says he is aware Moeschen is a beloved teacher, but "I can't speak directly to any issues related to some of the points made this evening."

Cox Media Group