Barbara Rother gave her first lessons at the former "Musikschulwerk Salzgitter" association back in 1977. At the time, she was a newly qualified state-certified music teacher.
After the music school became municipal in 1981, she was offered a full-time position in 1982. It was not an easy decision, as she had already applied for a scholarship abroad to study music therapy. Barbara Rother opted for Salzgitter and began her career as a music teacher in the subjects of piano, early musical education and basic musical training.
She later became deputy director of the municipal music school. The head of the music school at the time was Walter Finkbeiner, later Mirko Herzberg. She remembers: "After years of teaching at various schools in the city, we were finally able to move into our new home in the Alte Feuerwache in 1988. Contact, communication and events were now possible in our own building. And with the later expansion of the Kulturscheune, we also had a wonderful function room for large events".
Summing up her long career at the music school, she says: "I am leaving after a fulfilling and happy professional life. I have experienced a lot of affection and an incredible number of wonderful moments with the children and young people, with colleagues, with parents and with young and old fans of the music school. My work was appreciated from the very beginning and that is probably the best thing that can happen to you in your job."
Sabine Petter, the director of the music school, thanked Barbara Rother for her decades of commitment. "Barbara Rother has shaped and formed the music school from the very beginning." She taught thousands of children with great enthusiasm and initiated, organized and carried out countless concerts, auditions and Christmas projects. She also directed the children's musicals, organized collaborations with daycare centers and opened up to new musical genres such as jazz and Latin music. Barbara Rother is characterized by a high level of pedagogical skill, warmth, cheerfulness and enthusiasm for music and love for children. Barbara Rother has helped to shape and influence many eras. As a contemporary witness of the music school, she left important traces in the Alte Feuerwache.
It is not easy for Barbara Rother to say goodbye. "But at the end of my long time here, I am proud that I was able to help write a piece of the history of the Salzgitter music school," sums up Barbara Rother.