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Sonya Khoobehi remembered being shocked to see her music teacher from Edinburg High at her sister, Sandra Mour’s recital in Waco. It had been years since Kurt Roehm, a beloved and well-known classical musician and instructor from the Rio Grande Valley, had taught both Sonya and her sister, so seeing him travel hundreds of miles to Baylor University to support her meant something.
But that’s just the kind of guy Kurt was, or rather Mr. Roehm as he was affectionately known. In fact, to many of his students he was more than just a music teacher, but a mentor and a friend who supported them throughout their careers.
Now Sonya, 39, joins a grieving community as she mourns the loss of a person who had become a father figure to his students.
Kurt died at the age of 75 on July 17, leaving behind a musical legacy of dedication and encouragement to pursue one’s dream passionately.
And although Kurt was “extremely” dedicated to his work, his former student Miguel Gutierrez, 35, explained that it wasn’t his original career goal.
Kurt, who studied music in New Mexico, did not want to pursue a career in the industry because he believed it came with the unwanted pressure of living up to his father’s legacy, who was a musician and conductor.
Instead, Kurt dedicated his time to studying optometry, but as fate would have it, life had a different plan for him.
“The only reason he became an orchestra teacher was because he missed the deadline to go into optometry,” Sonya said.
Miguel and Sonya consider those circumstances extraordinary because if it wasn’t for him missing that deadline, he may have never touched as many lives and influenced as many musicians as he did.
INTRO
In 1975, Kurt received a call from a friend who offered him a job at Edinburg High School. The timing was just right to steer the course of his life and in turn, change the lives of those who knew him.
He went on to work as a music teacher at Edinburg High School for a quarter of a century, from 1975 until 2000. Sonya was a member of his last class, having been taught by Kurt from 1998 to 2000.
Such is their affection for Kurt that Miguel and Soyna provided much of his biographical information for this story, a testament to how well Kurt’s students knew and loved him.
“Sometimes he seemed like a grumpy old man but he really wasn’t,” Sonya said jokingly.
She recalled her years in high school where she and her classmates would throw pool parties at Kurt’s house. She chuckled as she remembered how he would often reject their plans.
“Somebody would ask, or not even ask him but just told him, ‘Hey we’re going over to your house this weekend,’ and he would say, ‘No. No, you’re not. I’m busy. I’m not going to open the door,’” Sonya said with a laugh.
She added that oftentimes they would show up at his door anyway. Although he would decline their plans Kurt still showed he cared for his students.
According to Sonya, he would leave towels ready for his students and often ordered pizza for them.
Because nothing says love like being able to drop by whenever you want.
“He was really good at just listening and at the end giving you some encouragement,” Sonya said.
ENCORE
Kurt’s retirement didn’t last very long. Two years later he was right back at work mentoring musicians of tomorrow.
In 2002, Kurt was hired at J. Economedes High School and met Miguel.
Miguel recalled his years in high school where Kurt would teach his students about dedication, passion, interpretation, phrasing and appreciation of music through videos of famous musicians.
Throughout their practices, Kurt would continuously encourage his students to put their best in every performance.
“He had this way of making you feel that you were important and that you brought value,” Miguel said tenderly.
He believed one could be better than they think.
“He never spoke ill about anybody,” Miguel said. “ He was just such a classy gentleman.”
Years after he graduated Miguel remained in touch with his teacher through the Valley Symphony Orchestra, and would often go to him for advice about music and life.
“That was practically the biggest gift he could’ve given us — to pursue this without any fear,” Miguel said.
In the summer of 2021, Miguel and Joel Ozuna opened a string shop, Bosky Strings in Edinburg, where he was happy to see his former teacher attend the grand opening.
He recalled how Kurt, like a proud parent, took photos and videos as they opened the store to the public for the first time.
Kurt often visited the store to give Miguel advice and continue to support him.
“Even after all these years he still kept pushing me,” Miguel said with a laugh.
CODA
Former Edinburg High students have said that its strings program was already in place at the time of Kurt’s arrival, and in place for as long as 20 years.
But they also said that Kurt’s impact on the program was so significant that his influence produced new generations of music teachers.
“If you observe the Edinburg program, the program has increased at least four times more than when he first started,” Miguel said, adding that he credits much of the program’s success to Kurt.
According to Sonya and Miguel, many of the orchestra teachers at Edinburg CISD were Kurt’s former students.
“There’s a bunch of orchestra teachers in the Valley now that were his students,” Sonya added, noting that he had become an influence in the local orchestra community. “He planted those seeds in us.”
For Sonya, his students became branches from a big tree.
In fact, she now teaches orchestra as a program director at a nonprofit organization called Make Music NOLA.
Miguel on the other hand not only owns Bosky Strings but has also been a private music teacher for 10 years where he teaches the viola and violin — skills he learned from Kurt.
“I’m basically passing down what I learned from him,” he added.
Kurt meant so much to Miguel that he couldn’t help but get sentimental when talking about the impact he had on his life.
“You know how they say the good part of a song is the beginning and the end, well I got him at the end and I think I was very fortunate because I don’t know how my life would’ve played had I not met him,” Miguel said. “He is the reason why I do what I do.”
Miguel is helping organize an event celebrating Kurt’s life on Aug. 27, which is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. at the South Texas College Cooper Center for Performing Arts, located at 3200 Pecan Blvd. in McAllen.
