Agoura High's Music Director Retires After 26 Years

"I made a promise to myself that when I got to a point in my life when I didn't have enough energy or motivation to help kids reach their goals in life, then it would be time for me to leave," said John Mosley, Agoura High School's music director, whose retiring at the end of the year.

For the past 26 years, Mosley has been known to motivate his students to excel in music and in life. 

"Mosley... has a reputation for exacting standards and manages to get each performer to achieve at the highest level," wrote Laura Moss, who profiled Mosley back on 2011 for our Teacher of the Month feature.

"Did you know that 98 percent of my students go on to four-year college? I don't know anywhere else with those kinds of statistics," he said.

The 57-year-old educator won the Music Center’s Bravo Award, and in 2010, he was named Educator of the Year from the Los Angeles Jazz Society.

Each year, Mosley has travelled the country with his choir, jazz and orchestra students, competing in renowned festivals, including the invitation-only Swing Central in Savannah, Georgia, at which his jazz bands consistently place in the top three.

"It's been so important that my students go everywhere to see and meet with top [professionals] from all over the world," he said.

While many institutions offer music programs taught by educators that specialize in one field like choir or orchestra, Mosley has mastered them all.

"Many music directors only focus on one subject," said Mosley. "But we just don't have the funds for that, so I have been teaching everything."

Last Sunday, the high school held a tribute concert for their teacher at the Performing Arts Education Center at which hundreds of his students, past and present, as well as parents paid tribute.

"It was so rewarding to see how well these kids have turned out," Mosley said of the alumni. "Some are doctors and lawyers, and many said it was thanks to their success in the music program."

Dr. Marcia Lamm's two sons have moved on to successful music careers. One son attends the Manhattan School of Music, while the other is getting his masters at the Juilliard School.

Lamm said Mosley hasn't just touched the students but the parents as well.

"He's influenced thousands of people," she said.

She credits Mosley for her sons' successes.

"He has exposed the students to the most interesting and important people in their fields," she said. "He has raised the bar for every kid, enabling them to focus on the future and college. He validates all of them."

Mosley said he doesn't want to sit around and mourn his leaving, so he's planned a European vacation that includes seeing the top three orchestras in Vienna, Belgium and Milan.

Taking over for Mosley will be Chad Bloom, who has been working in the department for the past 10 years. Joining him will be Bob Hacket, who was a student teacher under Mosley’s supervision.

As his parting words to Agoura High, Mosley said, "I just want to say it has been a pleasure working with the staff, faculty and students, and I wish everyone all the best."