Memorable Monologue: Mr. Holland's Opus

"Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. And yet I get feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. And he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each one of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus, and we are the music of your life."

~ Joanna Gleason as Gertrude Lang in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

*Skip to 3:25 for the monologue*