Mr. Vlad: No Regrets

This interview was written by Simeon H.

Do you have any regrets?

“I’m not really sure. I’m a musician and I teach music. What I always wanted to do was music or something related to music, so pretty much until now I have either been performing as a musician, or recording or teaching music, so I can’t really say there’s anything I regret.

“Prior to OYIS I lived in Japan for 7 years, and I was running my own music school. I did a bit of work with OYIS 4 years before I came to work here, then I started teaching middle school, and in just a few months I took over the entire music program. I was really impressed with the IB and how the students and the teachers communicated. They were always open to new ideas from teachers and students.

“The happiest moments in my life are when I had my 3 children. Also as I said, being able to do music-related things. So one side is having a professional life and also having a personal life, so I’m just happy doing what I do everyday.

“I think music should make people happy. People play music and people listen to music, so it’s nice to make them feel good through music. I was always interested in music and I had a lot of support for it from my family. One instrument I have a connection to is the guitar. It’s my first instrument. Although I can play other instruments, I can’t play them as well as I play the guitar.”