For 50 years, Sally Jost has been listening to right and wrong notes, key changes, forte and pianissimo and varying levels of skill.
Jost celebrated 50 years of teaching piano lessons this year. Her family, friends and even some former students attended her students’ annual recital at the Civic Center on May 22 to show their support and appreciation.
Jost grew up in Bennett and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and an emphasis in piano. After graduation, she spent two years as a music teacher at Nehawka, which was a K-12 school that has since been consolidated into Conestoga.
She then moved to Iowa for a short time before coming to Seward in 1968 and having three children. She taught her first piano lesson in 1972.
Ever since she was 10 years old, Jost knew she wanted to be a piano teacher.
“When I was really little, I went into my grandparents’ room where they had an old piano, and I would bang around on it,” she said. “Then, I started lessons, I think, when I was seven.”
Jost said her favorite part about teaching is getting to watch her students grow over the years.
“I simply watch them grow up musically, academically and socially. It’s lovely. It’s a delight for me to work with children and be a part of the years that form the rest of their life,” she said. “I’ve had so many successful [students], not just in piano, but in life.”
She was asked to be the accompanist for Seward High School in 1986, and she did that for 12 years.
“It was very delightful,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”
Jost’s loved ones made her 50th recital extra special. Her family planned a surprise celebration for her and a reception.
“When I came into the Civic Center, I noticed it was really full, but I just thought what a wonderful thing for my students to have a great crowd of people,” she said. “I was naive to the whole thing– I can’t believe it, but I was.”
Every year, Jost gives roses to her senior students and speaks about each of them. When she turned around to begin her speeches, she noticed her husband, Mo, at the microphone. At that moment, her family members began giving speeches, and she realized what was going on.
“I was just so happy. Just total happiness,” she said. “The best part of the evening was just seeing everybody, and the students performed so well. So, I was proud of them, too. It was just a happy occasion, and you can’t beat those.”
Jost said she received messages and cards from many of her former students, and some of them even came to the recital in person.
“I was just overwhelmed,” she said. “I’m so proud of those students, and it was just so great to see them. Some of them even made the effort to come out of town, and it meant a lot to me.”
Arianna Bohning began taking lessons from Jost in 2002 as a seven-year-old. She continued her lessons all through high school and said she looked forward to them every week.
“Sally was always so supportive and encouraging and kind, but she still somehow knew how to push me enough that I could make as much progress I did through the years that I was taking lessons from her,” she said.
Bohning is now living in North Carolina and is professional pianist. Over the last couple years, she has also been teaching piano lessons.
“I owe a lot of my musical success today and my love for music to Sally for nurturing that and building that from a young age in lessons, because I think that’s really where it was born,” she said.
Bohning said one her favorite moments throughout piano lessons each year was picking out what song she wanted to do for her recital. Jost said recitals are huge accomplishments for students because they allow them to showcase how much they have grown and learned over the past year.
In addition to their annual recitals, Jost’s students play Christmas solos at the Von Maur in Lincoln once a year in December. Jost herself plays the piano in Von Maur once a week.
“I think one of the biggest joys of music is sharing it with others,” she said.
