Across North America, the phrase “Don’t smile before Christmas!” could be heard in some pre-service teacher licensure programs as a method for teachers to enhance what administrators deemed instructional success (Andersen & Andersen, 1987; Ryan & Cansfield, 1970; Simmons, 1971; Wallinger, 1997). Unfortunately, this method, which encourages teachers not to smile until Christmas, may force teachers to adopt a mask that could create an inauthentic persona and negatively affect the educational success and well-being of their students. Since a teacher's smile creates a positive classroom atmosphere, fosters improved teacher-student relationships, and reduces stress and anxiety, it enhances educational success in the classroom (Abou Asalli, 2024), thereby challenging any method that discourages teachers from smiling. Consequently, when teachers adopt a persona, they may not be cultivating one that reflects who they truly are, ultimately deemphasizing what they value. Within the field of music education, band directors may conceal personal attributes behind a “mask,” thereby creating their “teacher persona” (as described by Davis, 2012; Gallagher, 2020; Kincheloe, 2005; Pennington & Richards, 2016). This teacher persona can be influenced by external forces, such as administrators, colleagues, and students (Gallagher, 2020), as well as competition (Powell, 2023), which sometimes leads to an authoritative approach that emphasizes immediate musical mastery, potentially contradicting one's authentic self. The dichotomy between one's “teacher authenticity” (Cranton & Carusetta, 2004; De Brucyckere et al., 2017; Fought, 2019; Johnson & LaBelle, 2016; Plust et al., 2020) and their teacher persona is the foundational intersection of this research project. This pilot study investigated how band directors use traits to construct their teaching persona, what their perception of the effect this teaching persona has on their teacher-student relationships, and what traits band directors’ hide behind their teaching “mask” (Jung, 1989, p. 397) that are distinct from their everyday persona. For this purpose, a multiple-case study (Yin, 2018) was conducted that included two mid-career band directors, teaching grade six to eight, each with a minimum of five years of teaching experience in Ontario, Canada. Using the Johari Window Model (Luft & Inghram, 1955) as a theoretical framework, data was collected through interviews, observations, and a written survey on traits that these band directors’ identified within four quadrants: open area, blind area, hidden area, and unknown area. I focused on the third quadrant, the hidden area, which includes personally recognized traits hidden from others. Additionally, the theoretical concept of emotional labor, coined by Arlie Hochschild (1983), was used during data collection to understand how individuals display specific emotions in order to meet the demands of their field. By examining the data from this multiple-case study, this session will highlight the benefits of utilizing an authentic teacher persona, band directors’ hidden traits, and their perceived effect on teacher-student relationships.