Wind Conductor

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

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

April and May are traditionally the time of year many music programs take their Spring Trip. It’s the perfect time. Assessment/Festival is behind us, things are winding down, and it’s nice to reward the students with the opportunity to enrich and educate while taking them to perform in prestigious or exotic locations. I will never forget the first overnight trip I took with my band. I was the Director of Bands at King George High School. It was my first year there – in fac

The 18th Century was an exciting time! In America we saw the birth of a nation built on the ideas of rugged individualism. Figures like John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin shaped the future with ideas of freedom and liberty. Religion found refuge in the New Land and the concept of the common man rising above genetic heritage laid the foundations of the thought which would lead the fulfilment of the theory that “all men are created equal.”

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 never get tired of listening to, performing or studying the music of Percy Grainger! I remember the first time I programmed a piece written by Percy Grainger with my band at King George High School (VA). It was Bainum's arrangement of Australian Up-Country Tune. This beautiful melody was a favorite of Grainger. The original composition was for voice and was sung at his wedding, an event that was held at the famed Hollywood Bowl. Grainger, ever the showman, composed the p

Grading in the band room can be difficult. It is not easy to quantify what a band director teaches. Our instruction time is vastly different from our colleagues in the Math, English, and Science departments. In those classrooms, students will receive a lot of grades for daily assignments, pop quizzes, tests, homework assignments, etc. With so many assignments, it’s not uncommon for these teachers to have 40 or more graded assignments in a given grading period. A lot of band

I can remember the first Wynton Marsalis recording I ever heard. It was an early evening in the spring of 1991 in the band room of Fairfax High School. I was a junior in high school and the jazz band was not a class. We rehearsed one night a week for a few hours. My Director, Ms. Mary Ulrey, wanted us to hear what she meant to breathe through a phrase. She played “Never Let Me Go” from the Standard Time, vol. 3 album. I had been inundated by the offerings of my peers with t