Thank you to those of you who reached out personally thanking me for Part I in this post – I was pleasantly surprised with comments, encouragement and (nice) demands for Part II. I take great unabashed joy to write about this part of the music ensemble. As I mentioned last week, there are core components here that are influenced by […]
Summer has afforded me the opportunity to think some thoughts without feeling overwhelmed. My thoughts on bands continue to be at the forefront of my mind. My vision for the future of music education in public and private schools includes a strong presence of the school band playing an integral part in building musicians, shaping attitudes towards the fine arts, […]
As a music educator of over twenty years and a parent of school age children, I don’t always attend a live concert where I don’t have a vested interest. If I am not thinking about how my own students might do, I am a proud father hanging on each note my own children perform. One might think someone in my […]
Amid now 186 pages and just shy of 45,000 words I take a minute to revisit one of my favorite hashtags on Twitter – #grindneverstops – and apply that to a lifestyle in music education. Notice the difference – I said lifestyle, not a job. The one thing I have tried to impress upon assistant directors with whom I have […]
Last night, I had the good fortune of hosting 47 alumni of the Band Program at Mercer during our Homecoming Football Game. It was a great evening of music, friends, laughter, and memories that added to the festivities of the entire Mercer school community. One of my current students got to conduct his dad on a song, two of the […]
