New teacher, same symphony: Ryan Lopez joins the jungle

Growing up, orchestra teacher Ryan Lopez’ family originally wanted him to play football, but he chose orchestra instead. He started playing the violin in middle school and fell in love with it.

Lopez was a student teacher at Pope High School in Cobb County, and had been used to working alongside students rather than directing.

“With student teaching, you have a mentor teacher right there. I have a mentor teacher, (music teacher) Aaron Price, but he’s in a different room teaching a different class. Last year it was same room, same class. Now I’ve got to be that person, but what if I don’t know what to do?” Lopez said.

Lopez moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Atlanta in August of 2021 for college. He went to Kennesaw State University to get a music education degree and joined the KSU college symphony as a violinist. Lopez then moved to Athens by himself in July of 2025. 

Growing up in Albuquerque for the majority of his life, Georgia’s landscape was also a new experience for Lopez. He was not used to seeing masses of trees and lakes due to Albuquerque’s desert and mountain terrain. 

“Moving to Georgia in general, I was like, ‘woah, greenery and water. I was so excited about it, but that was the initial shock,” Lopez said.

 Lopez also enjoys the small town feeling that he was used to growing up. Although Athens’ small town feel reminds Lopez of home, he misses the food he grew up with in Albuquerque. 

“New Mexico beats Georgia with the food,” Lopez said, “Red chili, green chili, all the stuff. I miss that.”

In college, it was hard for him to find where he fit in. He felt as if he was drowning in work due to his courseload. 

“I was taking 12 classes a semester, maxing out my credit hours,” Lopez said. “That’s the life of a music major, but it was a challenging, new place.”

Once Lopez found friends that shared his common interests, he felt like he fit in and that he’d found his purpose. College became more fun for him. 

“It was like I found who I was, and that’s really wonderful,” Lopez said.

Lopez thanks his mentor teacher Mrs. Benton from his senior year in college for inspiring him. He was having a rough time in music education and was on the verge of dropping out. In the department, it was required that he observe a high school teacher’s orchestra class, and he chose Benton’s class not knowing it would be a life changing experience. The thing he remembers most is how she taught. As he watched her teach, he saw her interact with the students in a way he had never seen before. 

“She was the first teacher I saw get off the podium, go over to the back of the section, sit down, and play with her students while she was teaching,” Lopez said. “She took that teacher-student divide off and just joined them. To me, that was like ‘this is why I want to be a teacher.’ She was the one who pulled me back and reminded me this is why I’m here and honestly why I’m sitting here today.”

Both Benton’s support and her teaching style inspired Lopez as he hopes to replicate that same feeling and presence for the students he is teaching now. Lopez took the interactive mindset of Benton’s approach on his first day of teaching this August. 

“My first day of teaching was exciting,” Lopez said, “Especially when I met the students.”

There are 41 students taking orchestra this year. A large portion of those students are freshmen, which excites Lopez because he’ll be able to watch them improve.

“You’ll see four years of growth in those kids, and it’s truly one of the reasons why I’m doing what I do,” Lopez said.

He says his relationship with the students has started out strong, and they have been welcoming toward him and his different style of teaching. His catchphrase “boo hiss” has even become a day-to-day saying  in the classroom.

“I use ‘boo hiss’ when we make a weird sound or if students don’t use enough bow. It’s just a playful gesture that replaces ‘oh no!’ and it’s my way of being a little dramatic or sassy,” Lopez said.

One of Lopez’s main focuses is creating a relaxed and family-like environment with his students. 

“They’ve quickly learned my personality, I’ve quickly learned their’s. We’re vibing. If I don’t say ‘boo hiss,’ they’ll say ‘is today not a boo hiss day?’ They know and expect the silly, goofy side,” Lopez said.

Feeling welcomed at Cedar, Lopez attributes this to his students and fellow teachers.

“My colleagues and students are my favorite part about Cedar so far,” Lopez said. “The teachers and administration are very supportive here and I love the students. There’s always energy in the room.”

The growth and accomplishments of his students are what motivates him to teach each day. 

“Every single little thing that they feel accomplished with is rewarding,” Lopez said. “With this group of freshmen that I have right now, in four years, when they graduate, I’m probably going to cry because I’m gonna see that whole process and that huge growth.”

Angeles Olali, a sophomore double bassist in orchestra, acknowledges his helpful efforts. 

“I’m just now coming back to violin, and Mr. Lopez has been a great help in me learning how to play violin again,” Olali said. “Even though it’s difficult at times, the class is fun and I feel motivated to play my instrument.”

Because of the inspiration of his mentor, Lopez hopes to make the classroom atmosphere welcoming for both creativity and expression. He wants the students to feel safe in his classroom just as he observed in his mentor’s class. 

“I want to make the place mine, but then also their’s,” Lopez said. “I want them to feel as safe in this room with me as their teacher as they did for the last three years of high school.”

Olali describes her first impression of Lopez being that he was strict. 

“I knew he was going to be strict because of the syllabus. I was right, but he is very silly too,” Olali said. 

Senior Arleth Aguilar, a student in his third period orchestra class, agrees with Olali. 

“We needed a little bit more strictness, because we were so used to being comfortable and a little bit lazy,” Aguilar said. 

Lopez agrees that he is strict but says that his standards influence improved results. 

“I’m strict. I’ve always had teachers that were strict, and I didn’t like them and wanted to rebel. I swore that I was never going to be that type of teacher, but now that’s me. I’m okay with that because those are the teachers I remember. Not because of them being strict, but because behind the strict persona, there is somebody who genuinely cares about your future,” Lopez said.

A camerata orchestra in Lopez’s class follows a defined routine. First, students are expected to set up their instruments and make their way to their seats. Then, they tune their instruments, making sure they are in the proper key for warmups and sectionals. After all this is done, they usually begin to practice their pieces as a class, but sometimes they work in sections. The sections include violin, violin two, viola, cello and double bass. Each section is led by one student, the “first chair.”      

“He’s implementing more techniques that we should have done before, and since he’s implementing those new techniques that we haven’t really practiced at first, it did feel like our esteem might have been low,” Aguilar said. “ But, we worked as a group. We go into sectionals, we play with our section, and we talk about how we can improve how we play, and that’s what’s been really helping.”

During his first year of teaching Lopez hopes to accomplish personalizing his classroom and music abilities. 

“I am wanting to push to a higher level of repertoire and music, decorate my room and office and make the place more comfortable for me and my students,” Lopez said.

He hopes to reach his goals by first learning what his students are already capable of so he knows what to implement. But Lopez’s main objective this year is much more important than repertoire.

“At the end of the day, first year teacher, new teacher. I want them to feel as safe in this room with me as their teacher as they did for the last three years of high school. So if I can establish that environment again, that’s my big goal this year,” Lopez said.