PMEA District 7 Professional Development Day

I am honored to be included among the list of presenters at the PMEA District 7 Professional Development Day on Monday, October 9, 2017. The event, held at Ephrata Middle School, will feature over 30 sessions for in-service and pre-service music educators in the Harrisburg region. My three sessions throughout the day include:

Even Directors need P.R.A.C.T.I.C.E! (Planning, Repertoire, Assessment, Concerts, The “T’s” of Rehearsal, Instruction, Creativity, and Ethics and Emotion) – a band director’s “toolbox” workshop.

Concerts that Connect! (Using interdisciplinary units and the large music ensemble) – how can we make the large ensemble experience more meaningful to our students? The answer may lie in helping them to draw connections from our ensemble music to the outside world.

View From Behind the Score/Reading Session (Insight on the process of composition) – One question I get frequently from colleagues relates to if I would be willing to talk with a student interested in composition. This 2-in-1 reading session illuminates several aspects of the composition process, and how that process played out in my own writing.

It is exciting for me to travel with over 20 of the music education students from Messiah College to attend this event. For many of them, this opportunity provides a great day of learning as they are able to attend these sessions, connect with other music educators in the District 7 area, and learn from an esteemed panel of educators (including Peggy Dettwiler – Mansfield University, Angela Guerriero – West Chester University, Anne Stuart – Millersville University, and Robert Gillespie – Ohio State University). The continual process of growing as a musician and educator are important for our profession, and I am excited to take this step with them today. I am very grateful to new colleagues and old friends in PMEA District 7 for extending this opportunity to me.