Wind Conductor

Last night, I went to bed not knowing who the next president will to be. This morning, I woke up not knowing who the next president will be. To say 2020 has been a tough year would be the understatement of the Century. The events of last night (and possibly the next several weeks) are another blow to our nation. Uncertainty causes fear. We look ahead and all we see is a dense fog of unanswered questions. However, 2020 has taught us to deal with uncertainty. Uncertainty has be

Attrition is a concern in any program. Every band director continually develops new ways to engage students and encourage them to continue their studies in music and be a part of the band. However, a growing concern for everyone is how the school closures during the COVID pandemic are going to affect our programs. In a recent conversation with Eric Bachmann, award-winning band director at Emerson Middle School in Niles, Illinois, I discovered how much more challenging overcom

Just before everything shut down, I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite composers, Anne McGinty. As a young band director, I programmed a lot of her music with younger bands. In a small economically challenged district in Virginia, I was grateful for the Queenwood books containing several of her compositions. Years later I had the opportunity to program one of her advanced pieces, Victorious, with the Mid-Atlantic Wind Symphony. Whether she is writing educatio

In this interview we talk with Steven Hendricks about his career developing a nationally-recognized, award-winning band program at Davis High School (UT). We also talk about the lessons he learned in the process and his new book, Life Lessons in the Band Room. Be sure to check out our T-shirts for Band Directors! #concertband #Tips #StevenHendricks #BandDirector #MusicEducation #SchoolAdministration

Hold on. Take a moment to savor what you’ve already accomplished. How many performances has band given in the past 3 months? > Competitions? > Football games? > Pep Rallies? > That performance to open the new grocery store? > Playing for the teachers on their first day at school? There has already been so much you’ve accomplished. It’s been an amazing year. Throughout the marching season, you’ve accomplished more in the past three months than most educators accomplish in an e

I have to admit, I LOVE Monet. I am drawn to the beauty of his paintings. One of the things I love most is the lack of definition. I will stare at the Woman with the Parasol and my imagination is on fire…what is she thinking? Where is she going—or is she returning? Who is the boy with her? The incredible thing about Impressionism is you are never given the fine details. It is not a “refined” product, yet it captures the moment perfectly. Would I recognize the woman if I passe

This video is from the 2017 Band Director Summit hosted by Aamano Music. In this video, I interviewed Robbie Spiers. Robbie retired last year from Lancaster High School (VA) where he spent his career building a community in his band program. Lancaster HS is located in rural Virginia and the population of the school typically ranges between 400 and 450 students. However, through his passion for teaching, Robbie built a band program which regularly attracted 150 to 200 studen

It’s the New Year! The big holidays are behind us. Marching Season seems like a distant past (...ok, maybe not…). And we are about to return to our bands re-energized and ready for a new challenge. And as we prepare to head back, we are thinking of all the things we want to accomplish in the new year. It’s time to make our New Year’s Resolutions! So how do we decide what resolutions are going to be successful? First piece of advice? We don’t make resolutions, we make GOALS!

Last week, the Davis High School Marching Band took center stage in one of the most prestigious marching events in the U.S.: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Each year, up to 60 million people tune in to watch the broadcast and the Macy's Parade has become an important part of many families' holiday traditions. Steven Hendricks, director of bands at Davis High School in Kayesville, UT, sees this event as his Swan Song as he retires from 30 years of service as a music educa

I recently read a Psalm (it was Psalm 42, if you were wondering) and noticed that it was attributed to "the Sons of Korah". So... Who was Korah? And why say the "sons of Korah" and not list the sons names? So I researched a little and found a really interesting story. In the Torah (the Jewish holy scriptures and history of the Fathers - "The Law"), there is a short story of a revolt against Moses, the great Jewish leader, and his brother Aaron (I love his name!). This revolut