As a little girl, she didn’t want to just play violin, clarinet or piano as expected. She wanted to play everything; she wanted to be a percussionist.

UA percussion instructor Beth Gottlieb’s career has taken her to Disney World in Orlando, orchestras across the country, military bases all over the world with the Lt. Dan Band, and finally, to her Tuscaloosa home and the University of Alabama.

Gottlieb began seriously studying music during high school in Huntsville, Ala., earned a bachelor’s of music in percussion performance at UA and received her master’s in percussion performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music before becoming a percussionist at Walt Disney World. There, she’d perform in a plethora of Disney bands, record for hundreds of movies, commercials and soundtracks, including The Little Mermaid, and catch the eye of Gary Sinise of the Lt. Dan Band for the Common Good in 2004.

Sinise, actor and founder of the band, which bears the name of his famed character in Forrest Gump, asked Gottlieb to join the group on their tours, primarily playing United Service Organization shows for U.S. troops throughout the world. Gottlieb accepted and has been touring with them since.

“It’s the most rewarding thing, going to play for our troops,” said Gottlieb. “Just to bring a little joy into their lives is so important.”

The 14-man band plays from a pool of 300 songs and often performs on weekends to avoid conflicting with Sinise’s obligations as an actor on CSI: NY. Gottlieb and the group most recently played last weekend on a military base in Kuwait, but the performance most memorable to her was a show last fall at Ground Zero in remembrance of 9/11.

“In the crowd, there was a man with no legs and one arm,” recalled Gottlieb. “We pulled him on stage to play maracas, and the smile on his face…you can’t explain your feelings.”

Outside of her office on the second floor of the Moody Music Building hangs an American flag, bearing the names of those who lost their lives at Ground Zero, gifted to her by a man who lost his children during the attacks. The door itself is covered in photos and memorabilia remembering other shows and groups of her past, as well as a weekly schedule packed tight Monday to Friday.

Inside lies an office cluttered with a variety of percussion instruments, each showing signs of recent use. Since joining the University as its sole percussion instructor in the fall of 2009, Gottlieb has worked with her four percussion ensembles and a class designed to educate how to teach percussion students, but as part of the music department’s cohesive faculty, she assists in all ensembles, orchestras and most events at UA.

“I’m here 60 hours a week, but I can’t complain, because I just love it,” Gottlieb said. “[My students] see me daily over their four years, and we become a family.”

Referred to kindly as “Ms. Beth,” she has 25 percussionists in the studio and takes pride in being able to give her students a realistic and all-encompassing musical education from her eclectic musical experience.

“You know you need to play both some Dixieland and some traditional styles,” said Gottlieb. “You don’t know what’s going to be out there.”

Scott Radock, her son and a senior percussion performance major at UA, found that his mother’s broad teachings have proven positive, as he prepares to audition at schools like Julliard and USC to earn his master’s degree.

“You get a well-rounded look at percussion,” said Radock. “You can’t take a single look at one style. She knows that.”

Kyler Starks, a sophomore majoring in music administration, had no prior experience playing in a band, but he said that it didn’t matter to Gottlieb.

“Beth took me in,” said Starks. “It’s a different experience [at UA], and they don’t restrict you in any way.”

In his second year as one of Gottlieb’s percussionists, he acknowledged that her tutelage is as atypical as the program.

“She’s more hands-on,” said Starks. “With her, she teaches everybody individually, and with the same care, intensity and expectations.”

Gottlieb said that each student learns in their own way, and on her trips around the globe, she often finds herself wondering what method she use to help a particular student. She said she’s proud to be involved with the program.

“It’s great coming back [to UA], being a pro and bringing your experience to the kids,” Gottlieb said. “I’m so happy to be able to do what I do.”