It's all about music, Wagner said. ?I?ve loved music since I was a little kid.

Wagner, who started his own band in high school and earned a degree in orchestration and classical performance, said that music is one of the last interactive art forms. We're a computer culture now, Wagner said. Music is one of the last art forms that you can make art from and be in a social environment.

He passes his infectious enthusiasm on to his Jazz Band and Piano Lab students, telling them that the music made is more important than the notes on the page.

Music is about sound, Wagner said. I want my students to make music, not to just play music mechanically.

After coming to the city to study music at the University of San Francisco, one of his teachers approached him and asked him about how he felt about teaching.

I wasn't sure at first, Wagner said. ?But I was a starving student, and they offered me a job. I was also kind of tired of gigging.

Before coming here, he worked with district middle schools, including Benjamin Franklin and Marina.

So far, he likes what he's seen at Lowell. Lowell's a very positive experience, he said. The students are hard-working. But he's still getting to know the school. The rally was bizarre, Wagner said. Up until then, I had only encountered music students, so my experience was limited.