They called her 'Sarge' — Schwent remembered as 'legend', trailblazer in music education

Beloved teacher, musician and band director Patricia Schwent of Jackson died Saturday, Nov. 4, at the age of 74.

Schwent was born into a musical family and went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Southeast Missouri State University focusing on the saxophone. In 1971, she became band director at Woodland Schools in Marble Hill, Missouri. In 1975, she joined Nick Leist at Jackson School District. They were later joined by Scott Vangilder and together developed one of the most respected high school instrumental music departments in Missouri.

Beloved teacher, musician and band director, Patricia Schwent of Jackson, Missouri, passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the age of 74.Courtesy of the Schwent family

Beloved teacher, musician and band director, Patricia Schwent of Jackson, Missouri, passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the age of 74.Courtesy of the Schwent family

Scott Vangilder, director of the Jackson Municipal Band, taught alongside Schwent at Jackson schools. He said Schwent was a “classy lady, a first-rate person and she was a top-notch teacher.”

“She was the best teacher that I have ever taught with,” Vangilder said. “Watching Pat teach and teaching with her, I learned more about teaching music than I did in any of my college classes. She was a great mentor and I’m gonna miss her. We’re all gonna miss her.”

Jordan Cox, associate dean and director of choral activities at Missouri Baptist University, credited Schwent with inspiring him to pursue music education as a career.

“She was an incredible musician, and she brought that to the classroom,” Cox said. “She was a unique presence, and you really felt like you were working with a professional musician. She had very high expectations and she just drew you into her world.”

Cox said Schwent was the epitome of passion about her field. He said she showed him it was possible to celebrate and enjoy his art while also studying it academically and being part of a professional music scene.

“She also played a profound role for a lot of women in the field and especially women band directors across the state,” Cox said. “I thought that was a cool part of her legacy.”

Matt Palisch, a real estate professional with Edge Realty in Jackson, was another of Schwent’s students.

“They broke the mold with Pat as a high school band director, as a woman, as a musician and as an educator,” Palisch said. “I mean, she led the pack, for sure.”

Paul Fliege, band director at Jackson schools, was hand picked by Schwent to replace her after she retired in 2001. He said Schwent was a “legend”, a “phenomenal teacher” and an “outstanding” band director.

“I learned a lot about being a teacher from her,” Fliege said. “She was always there for any kind of advice that I ever had to ask. She was just a kind woman, a wonderful human being. I just can’t say enough about how wonderful of a person she was, and just caring and I think that definitely did reflect in her teaching.”

Bob Gifford, former director of bands for SEMO, said even as a university professor he learned a great deal from Schwent.

“I used to recommend all of our instrumental students to visit Pat’s classes because she was a master teacher,” Gifford said. “She was always very humble and yet produced a product that was known statewide and, in fact, that program over the years has been one of the strongest not only in the state but in the Midwest. So, I have just the utmost respect for her musicianship, and of course as a wonderful person.”

They called her ‘Sarge’

“Sarge was a term of endearment from her students,” Fliege said. “She was tough, and she demanded excellence, but she was caring and set a good standard.”

Cox said Schwent lived up to her nickname as she rallied the troops of the marching band to rise to excellence.

Vangilder said Schwent gave 100% of herself to the music and her students and expect the same back from them.

“She expected that type of work, that effort back,” Vangilder said. “So, yes, she was demanding but in an affectionate and a mentoring motherly sense.”

And it wasn’t just her students who called her by her nickname. Jerry Ford, band director of the Jerry Ford Orchestra, with whom Schwent played during the 1970s and ’80s, said he and his band all called her “Sarge”.

“Because she was so intense and she was a leader,” Ford said. “She didn’t back off. She made sure that everybody was doing their part.”

Gifford agreed and said Schwent was “frank and to the point” but also “very warm hearted” and that her student came first.

The teacher became the student

In a Southeast Missourian article after her retirement in 2001, Schwent left some advice for her students.

“Find something you can do well, pursue it aggressively; if it doesn’t work out, have a plan B ready,” Schwent said. “In life you will win a few and lose a lot.”

Palisch said even after retiring Schwent decided to take private lessons to become a better saxophone player.

“A lot of times you think about a teacher who has spent their life sharing and educating and when they retire maybe they do something completely different,” Palisch said. “But Pat just turned herself into the student at that point, which I think was really just incredible.”

Ford said Schwent was always on the cutting edge pushing herself to be better.

“She would go and take lessons from the known jazz players in the region, and further than that even, and to make sure that she was always bettering herself,” Ford said.

Steve Schaffner, the director of the Music Academy at SEMO, said he played in various combinations of bands Schwent put together. He said she was the hardest working woman he knew.

“Pat had one speed, and that was wide-open,” Schaffner said. “She was very passionate, and once she decided she was gonna do something, it was going to be done very well.

In a May 2004 Southeast Missourian article about her band, Saxy Jazz, Schwent said she would usually practice four hours a day and up to eight hours right before a show. She said she looked at her craft the same as an athlete, and that she had to keep in shape.

“Despite the hard work it’s purely a labor of love,” Schwent said. “I like to see people happy, having fun. I really feel this is what I was supposed to be doing, or all of these doors wouldn’t have opened.”