This poster presents selected findings from a doctoral research study which explores the experiences of late-career elementary music teachers who have undergone significant pedagogical shifts after more than fifteen years in the classroom. Central to this study was the development of a “Story of Music Teacher Experience” for each participant, constructed through the reflective tool Rivers of Musical Experience (Burnard, 2012). Originally adapted from the Rivers of Experience model used in Personal Construct Psychology (Kelly, 1955/1991) and educational research (Denicolo & Pope, 1990; Pope & Denicolo, 1993), this visual-analytic method enabled participants to use the metaphor of a river to chart critical moments, transitions, and relationships that shaped their musical and teaching identities. Expanding upon the river as a drawn curved line, participants were also asked to identify factors that impeded, restricted, or altered its flow. The resulting visual representations of their careers revealed how formative musical experiences, career milestones, and disorienting dilemmas (Mezirow, 1978, 199) shaped the evolving values, beliefs, and assumptions of veteran music teachers, ultimately informing their current pedagogical approaches. Using a narrative inquiry framework (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), each teacher’s river was a starting point for in-depth, story-based conversations about how they make sense of change in their professional practice. Through these stories, participants examined the interplay between their personal and professional identities, identifying how experiences of mentorship, challenge, and renewal influenced their sense of purpose as music educators. The findings illustrate that late-career pedagogical transformation is often rooted in ongoing processes of reflection and relational learning rather than single pivotal events. Participants’ rivers served not only as tools for data generation but also as catalysts for self-understanding, allowing teachers to visualize the continuity and transformation within their professional lives. The metaphor of water and surrounding landforms to represent a life path held particular resonance for participants whose pedagogical shift engaged their students in Indigenous ways of knowing and learning (Roberts, 2024), suggesting a settler framework can be informed by Indigenous perspectives. This study contributes to a growing body of research on narrative and reflective methodologies in music education (Chua & Welch, 2021; Burnard, 2012; Taylor, 2011; Baker, 2005), highlighting the Rivers of Musical Experience as a valuable framework for eliciting and interpreting the lived experiences of teachers. By examining how late-career educators reinterpret their stories of practice, the research underscores the potential for sustained personal and pedagogical renewal across the span of a teaching life.