Good News on the Horizon - 3rd Release of Preliminary Results of Aerosol Study in Music
The 3rd Release of the study came out today. One of the key findings in the preliminary study is that playing woodwind and brass instruments with a mask and using a bell cover is equal to talking (reading level) with a mask. Here is the link to the 3rd release of the study (released today, 11/13/2020) https://www.nfhs.org/articles/unprecedented-international-coalition-led-by-performing-arts-organizations-to-commission-covid-19-study/ Panelists: Dr. Mark J. Spede is Professor
Choosing a path...
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
Overcoming Post-COVID Attrition in Middle School Band
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
Tim Hinton - The 2020 Marching Season
Last week, I had the opportunity to connect with Tim Hinton (Composer, Arranger, and Host of the outstanding padcast, Marching Roundtable). None of us are sure what the 2020 Marching Season is going to look like. However, one thing is clear: we have to be ready for all possibilities and begin planning now. In our conversation, we discussed a wide range of topics including recruiting using an online platform and social media. We also talked about what about auditions and stude
Chad Dempsey & The "Hey Band!" Network
A couple of weeks ago, I was researching resources for a middle school band director who was trying find ways to teach young band members in an online setting. That's when I stumbled across Chad Dempsey's YouTube channel, the Hey Band! Network. I watched an excellent interview by Chad with a wonderful middle school band director in Texas, Dorina Kingston. I immediately Facebook-stalked Chad and said, "Hey, that was a great interview! We've got to show this to the Wind Conduct
Paul Murtha: Arranging & Composing for Concert Band
Whether in marching band, concert band, or jazz band, you may have performed one of Paul Murtha's compositions. Recently retired from composing and arranging for one of the best band organizations on the planet, I was able to talk with Paul about his journey which led him to Pershing's Own, the United States Army Band. Although, I was familiar with Paul's work from my experience as a band director, I first met Paul as a trumpet player on several gigs in the Northern Virginia
An Interview with Anne McGinty
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
Dr. John Rine Zabanal- Remote Teaching & the Covid-19 Pandemic
I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. John Rine Zabanal, Assistant Professor of Strings Education at VanderCook College of Music, about remote teaching for performance-based music classrooms. We had an open and candid conversation about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the traditional music classroom while schools are shutdown. Some of the topics we discussed included: Remote Teaching and ideas to make it work Using a Flipped Classroom model for the performance-based m
Life Lessons in the Band Room - An Interview with Steven Hendricks
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
$165,000 Fundraising Campaign - Interview with Cami Tedoldi
I met Cami in 2017 when she asked me to put together an itinerary for the nationally recognized, award-winning music program at Foxboro High School (MA) to travel to Australia. She told me how the music department had hosted the jazz ensemble from the Hale School in Perth, Australia, several times over the past decade. After several invitations from the Hale School, Cami and her team decide 2019 was the year. The financial obligation for an international tour is far greater t
