Robert Meunier cannot remember a time growing up when music didn’t surround him. Even now, as Meunier approaches retirement, the professor of percussion and director of bands at Drake University looks forward to keeping it in his life.
Meunier, who has worked at Drake for 40 years, received the director of bands position despite, in his eyes, not deserving it at the time. He had previously served as assistant director of bands and applied for the vacated director position despite having few band skills and only a minimal knowledge of musical scores.
After getting the role, Meunier began studying to build that knowledge base. He spent days working in place of both the assistant director of bands and the director of bands, along with reading music.
“I’m involved in music every day for most of my day, and I’ve always been a learner,” Meunier said. “I think that’s one of the most important attributes anybody can have.”
Meunier often tells his students this: The moment they learn about what they don’t know, they are responsible for learning it.
“I’ve been very, very blessed that for some reason throughout my career, students actually value what I have to say,” Meunier said.
Early in his career, Meunier gave up a lot of performance work to accommodate his schedule. However, he still had a lot to balance, even as he got an assistant.
In addition to his role as Drake’s director of bands, Meunier currently conducts the Des Moines Youth Wind Ensemble, teaches at high school clinics, has contributed to numerous volumes on teaching music and has served as a guest conductor across the U.S. on several occasions.
Because of this, Meunier has very few days off. Students often ask him if he sleeps, he said, especially as he frequently sends emails in the early hours of the morning.
“You get to that point where you think that you see a light at the end of the tunnel, and you have that light open for a day,” Meunier said. “And then the tunnel comes crashing down again, and then you start digging, and you open that end of that tunnel again, and then the next stuff comes. And for me, that’s August through May of every year.”
Drake students were a large part of why Meunier stayed in this position as long as he did. He found them to be uniquely insightful and intelligent and enjoyed teaching that quality of student.
Meunier sees his role as a teacher as taking students of different emotional maturity levels and intellectual abilities and preparing them for life ahead. He has had around 150 students in every band over the past four decades.
“The band really became my instrument,” Meunier said. “And so I trust 18 to 22 year olds to make music for me, or make music with me.”
Ruby Hummel, a senior music education major at Drake, is one of those students. She is a music education major who works with Meunier as part of the band staff.
Hummel said that during her time at Drake, Meunier has been an amazing mentor to her and the rest of the band.
“Even in the band office where it is more paperwork, he has a passion for helping us as future educators and musicians,” Hummel said. “And him showing that support and doing his best to guide us and to make us the best versions of ourselves that we can be before we graduate has been really amazing.”
Hummel said that some of her favorite memories working with Meunier were how, during tours or recording sessions, he reminded the band how they were growing from the experiences.
“The program, the instrumental program, wouldn’t be what it is without him being there,” Hummel said.
Meunier has seen the effects of his tenure at Drake. The program expanded greatly under his time and is now nationally respected.
Meunier has also seen his impact on students.
“Over the last six months and longer, students from way back in the 1980s [are] reaching out to me and sending me these wonderful notes about the effect that I had on their life,” Meunier said. “It’s just very humbling that I was given the opportunity by them to have that place in their lives.”
In his retirement, Meunier is looking forward to playing music again, including jazz with people he used to play with before becoming the director of bands at Drake. He will continue to teach at high school clinics and serve as a guest conductor.
Meunier is also looking forward to having time for his hobbies — gardening, hiking and reading. He said that he is more of an introvert in private than he is when he teaches.
“There’s a performative aspect to teaching,” Meunier said. “Every day, you’re in front of students, and every day, students have expectations of you as that person that, in my case, is Bob Meunier. But there’s another person, that’s me, away from all of this. And so I’m looking forward to being that person.”
Meunier will have his final on-campus concert with the wind symphony at his retirement celebration on May 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Hall in the Harmon Fine Arts Center.
“My legacy is my students,” Meunier said. “As I’ll say in my final program, soon they’ll pay it forward.”