Mr. Sean Williams teaches Orchestra and Music Theory at McNary. He has been teaching for a total of 23 years with this being his eighth year at the school.

“The big thing for me is that light bulb moment,”  Williams said. He said that his favorite part about teaching is when his students come to a full understanding of the material. He believes that being able to see students master techniques or music is very exciting.

One of Williams's main motivators to start teaching can be attributed to his time working alongside other educators as summer camp staff. Williams was also inspired by a high school music teacher who helped his school achieve some things that hadn’t quite been achieved before. He also hopes to continue teaching here for the foreseeable future. “I'm very happy here at McNary, like the culture here, my coworkers, students are fantastic, and the community has been very supportive,” Williams said.

Williams mentioned that being a teacher has had a positive impact on his life. “You know the thing about teaching is that you're making a long term investment in people and students,” Williams said. He believes that the short term rewards like learning new skills, new music, or successful performances are all great.Williams believes that one of the unique things about teaching is that it never gets dull. “The students are different every year, their needs are different every year and as an Orchestra teacher we’re studying different music year to year,” Williams said. Another thing that makes his job unique is that if you’re in Orchestra then he will be working with you every year.Being passionate about music, Williams started playing the violin in fourth grade. He then switched to the viola and that is now his main instrument. Williams also knows how to play a number of other instruments such as the cello and bass thanks to his past music education.