Interview With An Accomplished High School Band Director. ~When did you decide to become a music teacher?

I knew by junior year of high school that I wanted to be a band director who also taught music theory. I was passionate about music, felt I had a knack for teaching, and I had no desire to try and eke out a living as a performer. (I also wanted to teach in a Northshore high schoolI guess I got pretty lucky to achieve all that by age 24!) ~Who has inspired and influence your teaching? Every band director Ive had, from elementary through college, has had an influence on me. My first director was a kind, older man who got me excited about music, even though he wasnt the most effective educator. My HS director taught me about hard work and excellence. I loved my two HS theory classes and was really impressed by both teachers caring for us students and the breadth of their knowledge. Mr. Paynter at NU was legendary, and I learned a ton from him about work ethic, organizing a band program, repertoire, band history, etc., etc. Don Owens, the jazz director, gave me a lot of opportunities to try creative teaching, like the way I do jazz band now. My saxophone professor, Dr. Hemke, taught me an incredible amount about musicality. In my doctoral program, Dr. Patrick Jones opened my eyes to musical philosophies that were somewhat in opposition to what I learned at NU. I am truly the sum of all of my music teachers along the way. You could even go back to 1st grade general music with Mrs. Nagel and how much I loved learning cool songs with her. ~How are you rewarded and challenged by your choice to teach music? Its an annual challenge, at this point in my career, to find something new to be excited about. So, I try to do something different each year, whether its new repertoire, a revised unit in theory, or a new approach to warm-ups. I am also challenged when I get students in band or theory who are quite unprepared for the curriculum (drummers who dont know how to read music, theory students who never really learn their note names). I am rewarded every time a student gets excited about something musical or understands something for the first time. It keeps me going when I am pleasantly surprised by a playing test or an audition or when the band really nails something in a concert. Of course, its the best when I have students [who] love music so much that they take it up as a career.

~How do administrators, teachers, and parents support your work? I am very well supported at [my school]. Financially, I have enough money between the budget and the Friends of the Arts to keep my groups well supplied. The administrators treat me as the local expert in instrumental music education, and they pretty much let me do what I feel needs to be done to achieve my goals with the students. They support me without micromanaging me, which is the best case scenario for anyone in education. ~How do you continue to grow professionally? My doctorate was a major growth experience. Before then, I took classes at NU or VanderCook every few years, and I try to read the MENC journals and the Instrumentalist when I can. I also stay up on the jazz scene pretty well. I do enjoy conferences, especially IMEA All-State. I always learn something new that energizes me or challenges my thinking. ~What advice would you give someone interested in a career as a music educator? Pursue your own instrument as far as you can in college to become the best performer you can be. Consider the baton to be your second instrument and become the best conductor you can be. Watch as many rehearsals as you can and think about what the conductor is doing and why. Read the MENC journals, Reimers philosophy book, and Regelskis Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8: A Musicianship Approach. Listen to recordings of band music and learn the repertoire. Volunteer or do work study in the band department to learn how to run an organization.