Abstract: Dr. Thomas Hohstadt (1933-2022) was a child prodigy on trumpet performing with Horace Heidt, then attending the Eastman School of Music to earn his DMA in performance, a Fulbright scholar, attended the Vienna Akademie für Musik, and Domaine School of Conductors. He conducted the Honolulu, Amarillo, and Midland-Odessa Symphony orchestras. As their conductor, he appeared in eight nations, recorded for major record labels, broadcast over 194 radio stations, and his recordings can be found in the Library of Congress. Tom career provided a perspective of the arts he openly shared as how the arts use three general moods to create tension and release it, transfer energy, and engage the audience. Tom’s teaching extend this beyond the arts and into the world where conflicts between struggle and hope occur every day. The endless hope finally ends in celebration for some. And where struggle and celebration are at seemingly never ending odds.