Not for the faint of heart

The work you’re doing matters more than you know. In a world that often feels fragmented and uncertain, you’re giving young people a place to belong, to grow, to create something beautiful together.

Don’t Give Up.

As I read posts from friends and colleagues in the band world over the past month, I am concerned. We have hit the time of year where contest and festival are approaching or coming in, course scheduling is forcing key students to face difficult decisions as master schedules are released, budgets are due and funding is not allocated where it […]

An open letter about auditions…

I write tonight to a group of students who will audition for the PMEA District 5 Honor Band tomorrow night. I am proud of them as musicians and people for what they have chosen to do. >>>>><<<<< Dear Andrea, Janalyn, Lindsey, Jordyn, Sami, Abby, Kyle, Kyle, Ryan, Dakota, Andrew, and Chris, I am excited for you. Tomorrow is Honors Band […]

Musical Accountability

What follows is a revision of the speech I delivered to the underclassmen at my school’s band banquet in May of 2012. If this speech is of use to any of you who address your students at a formal gathering over the next year, please feel free to quote as needed as you prepare your program. The purpose of the […]

Music Education as a shaping force in culture

The following is one of the founding beliefs in my philosophy of music education.  I have recently been mulling over the task that lies ahead of all music education in the responsibility to be a shaping force in our own culture.  There are a number of performing arts groups situated in communities that contribute to the culture that are faced […]

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