A Year-End Review for WindConductor.org

by Aaron Noë

End-of-Year for Band Directors

The past couple of years have brought some significant transitions in my professional life as I moved from secondary teaching into college teaching. It has been a good and meaningful change, but it has also required me to rethink how I spend my time, where I focus my energy, and how I continue to serve the band director community through WindConductor.org.

One of the biggest changes I noticed this year was my level of engagement with the WindConductor.org community. A few years ago, I was writing two to three blog posts each month. This past year, I averaged about one post per month.

That does not mean the work stopped. It was simply prioritizing my work-life balance during a big transition in my professional life.

In addition to the transition in my career, I developed The Band Director Planner. Like many of my projects, this resource came from a need I saw in the profession. There wasn’t a planner designed specifically for band directors, so I created one. The result was a planning system that helps band directors connect daily decisions to long-term growth.

One of the topics I discuss in the Planner is the value of a year-end reflection. The end of the school year gives directors a chance to pause, evaluate what happened, identify what worked, and set clearer goals for the year ahead. Rather than simply writing about that process, I thought I would walk through it myself for WindConductor.org.

Here is my Year-End Review for Wind Conductor.

Wins

• I published 13 articles during the 2025-2026 school year.

• I developed a working relationship with SBO+ Magazine.

  • 10 of my articles were published on SBOplus.net 

• My article, “Performance Practices for the Concert March,” had the greatest reach of any article I have written.

• The articles that seemed to connect most strongly with readers focused on best practices and program development.

Areas for Growth

• I would like to increase the number of articles I write each year.

• I want to focus on topics that speak directly to the practical needs of the band community.

• I want to continue researching best practices for band directors and write more consistently on those topics.

• I want WindConductor.org to become an even stronger resource for directors who are trying to build healthier, more intentional programs.

My Takeaway

My overall productivity was not as high as it has been in previous years, but that was not surprising given the transition in my career. At the same time, the work that did connect with readers gave me a clearer sense of direction.

Band directors seem to benefit most from articles that are practical, reflective, and focused on real program development. Moving forward, I want to continue writing on topics that help directors make better decisions, strengthen their teaching, and build programs with greater clarity.

Goals for 2026-2027

Using The Four Pillars framework from The Band Director Planner, here are my goals for WindConductor.org this year:

Musicianship: I will publish 24 articles focused on best practices, rehearsal strategies, musical growth, and program development.

Growth: I will identify two to three additional platforms similar to SBO+ Magazine and build relationships that allow WindConductor content to reach more band directors.

Community Support: I will pay closer attention to the questions, challenges, and needs directors are sharing so that future articles provide meaningful and practical support.

Administration Support: I will dedicate four to five hours each week to developing content for WindConductor.org and related resources.

A Reflection for Band Directors

I would encourage you to take a few moments over the next couple of weeks to reflect on your own 2025-2026 school year. Identify your wins. Acknowledge the areas that could have gone better. Then create a short takeaway from that reflection and develop one goal for each of The Four Pillars:

• Musicianship

• Growth

• Community Support

• School and Administration Support

This does not have to be complicated. The goal is to create enough clarity that you can begin next year with stronger direction and fewer reactive decisions.

If you would like guided practice with this process, I am hosting The Year-End Evaluation and Goal-Setting Workshop for Band Directors on June 23. During the workshop, we will walk through the evaluation process, identify areas of growth, and develop a 90-day strategic plan to help you begin the 2026-2027 school year with greater clarity.

You can learn more about the Year-End Workshop at BandDirectorPlanner.com