While many of the teachers we’ve talked with over the years didn’t start out expecting to be educators, Rachael Urquhart, at age 13, was certain of her life’s dream. She learned to play clarinet in fourth grade and discovered that band was her passion. And every step from then on, particularly after joining jazz band in middle school, reinforced that she was destined to be a music teacher. Not just a music teacher at any school, but at her alma mater: Quakertown Community Senior High School in Pennsylvania. Today, she’s the school’s Director of Bands and loving every minute.
It’s surprising to hear of a teenager who is so sure of their future, but Rachael’s experience in marching band with her peers and friends—and an excellent teacher who was also her mentor—gave her a profound confidence. She was Drum Major for three years in high school and served again in that role in college at West Chester University, outside of Philadelphia.
“I could see that being in band gave young people the tools they needed to be good humans,” Rachael says. “By becoming a music teacher and band director, I would be able to give back and provide the same opportunities I had to as many students as I possibly could.”
With Rachael at the helm, Quakertown Community Senior High’s Panther Marching Band engages in competitions and travels regularly—both close to home and further afield. Travel is an inherent part of the program, and strongly supported by the school. Though they’re competing locally and regionally regularly, they typically have their big trips in spring, alternating every other year with the choir program.
Right now, Rachael is planning their 2027 trip to San Antonio, and looks forward to the possibility of performing at the Alamo! In the past, they’ve performed in Boston and at Universal Studios, which was a personal favorite of hers. The kids were afforded a couple of days of free time at the theme park, and she got to see them in a different light, having an outlet of celebration and enjoying their time together after working especially hard throughout the year.
“No matter where we go, I always come home really proud of them for how they interact with other people and each other, and how they represent themselves and our school,” Rachael says.
San Antonio will be the first trip she’ll be planning on her own, and the first time she and her students will have been through an airport together. While this adds a whole new dimension, she isn’t that worried. Most of the trips Rachael and the Panther Marching Band have been on have been very smooth—and she credits much of that with the character of her students.
“I’ve just been so fortunate,” she says. “Band kids are the best kids. I’m not afraid to say that band kids are awesome. There’s an element of self-discipline and self-management to playing an instrument. And I think that translates into how they conduct themselves out in the world.”
One of the other elements that makes travel with her students relatively seamless is the culture they’ve built as an entity. Band students spend a lot of time together and consider themselves a family. Rachael usually sees the same kids year after year through graduation. “I feel like I get to cultivate a really positive community,” she says. “I watch them grow up, from freshmen to seniors. We know each other very well and have developed professional relationships with one another.”
Rachael also works with a group travel planning company that specializes in educational and performance-related excursions, which helps immensely with many of the logistics, liaising, and added challenges of transporting not just people, but instruments. Along with this planning partner, she also relies on trusted parents to serve as her right hands and step in when she’s being pulled in different directions.
Rachel recognizes that her marching band travels have been largely ideal with few incidents, but she encourages other educators who might be considering a trip to not be afraid. “Once you do it once, it becomes way less scary,” she says. “If you’re at all nervous about traveling with students, just have a little faith in them. These kinds of trips offer so many leadership opportunities; chances for them to step up and chances for them to take ownership of whatever club or program or organization or ensemble they represent. Give them a little trust and they’ll likely surprise you.”
Written by Allison Kay Bannister
Photo courtesy of Rachael Urquhart.
