Everything Band Podcast

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Episode 152 - Damien Crutcher Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Damien Crutcher is the founder of Crescendo Detroit and the conductor of the Farmington Community Band, Civic Concert Band, and the Detroit Community Concert Band. He joins the show to share the stories of the remarkable people in his life and the decisions to help make his home city of Detroit an even better better musical place.

Topics:

Damien's early story growing up in Detroit including going to the legendary Cass Technical High School and meeting a horn teacher that changed the course of his career.
The story of why Damien decided to become a music teacher and how he ended up at Michigan State for his undergraduate.
How an act of kindness from a graduate student at Michigan State helped Damien become a better conductor.
Studying with H. Robert Reynolds at the University of Michigan and the lessons that he learned.
How the decisions to not pursue a doctorate and to leave his high school job ultimately found the remarkable Crescendo Detroit.
Damien's ensembles.

Links:

Biography:

Damien Crutcher is a native Detroiter and a graduate of Cass Technical High School. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Michigan State University, and a Master's in Conducting from The University of Michigan. Damien studied horn with Bryan Kennedy and Doug Campbell and Conducting with Dr. Ronnie Wooten and Profesor H. Robert Reynolds.

After graduating from The University of Michigan, Damien served as Director of Bands and Orchestra at Southfield-Lathrup High School. Under his direction the Southfield-Lathrup ensembles, including the Lathrup Symphony Band have performed in San Francisco, Chicago, the Bahamas, the White House and Carnegie Hall. Many of his students from Southfield Lathrup are currently professional musicians, music teachers and artists across the country.

He is currently the co founder and CEO of Crescendo Detroit. Crescendo Detroit is a nonprofit who's mission is to transform the lives of school age children, ages 5-18, in Detroit, by engaging kids in intense instrumental music, vocal music and dance programs that promote artistic excellence and character building. It is the goal of Crescendo Detroit to create a neighborhood to college pipeline using the arts.

Damien is a frequent quest conductor and clinician throughout Michigan and Ohio and also serves as the conductor of the Farmington Community Band. Damien is in his third season as conductor of the Civic Concert Band and the Detroit Community Concert Band.

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Episode 151 - Finding Community at NJMEA Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

For this special episode, I recorded live from the New Jersey Music Educators Association Conference in Atlantic City. During the conference, I had the opportunity to speak with seven music teachers in the state and asked them about community. A special thank you to Kaleidoscope Adventures for making this possible.

Guests and Topics:

Philip Aguglia of PaGu batons and a high school band director in Buffalo, New York talks about some of the ways he builds community in his program, leaving a footprint behind, and tells us about his batons.
Larissa Skinner, a music teacher in the Passaic School District and a Ph.D. student in Urban Education at Rutgers University talks about some of the activities that she uses to help build community to help her students feel successful.
David Taylor is a 28 year teacher at Northern Burlington Regional High School who joined me to talk about the community of our profession.
Yale Snyder is the district percussion specialist and band director in the Monroe Township School District. He talked about building relationships that can last forever.
Heidi Haderthauer teaches 6-12 band in New Milford, New Jersey. She talks about the three levels of community.
Scott Visco teaches at Point Pleasant Borough High School. He talked about the importance of the high school band in a small town and how a quality program can become the artistic center of a community.
Melissa Clark teaches 7-8 grade orchestra and 4-6 grade string players in the Lawrence Township Public Schools. She shared her experiences of living in the community where she teaches and how that helped her feel more connected to her students.

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Episode 150 - Robert W. Smith Feb 24, 2020

Show notes

Robert W. Smith is a prolific composer, educator, and publisher. He joins the show to tell his stories, share some advice, and talk about copyright. If you want to know the importance of making connections, then this is the episode for you!

Topics:

Robert's background growing up in a military family and the story of an extraordinary piano teacher that had an indelible influence on Robert's early music education.
How music educators are keepers of knowledge for a long line of musicians that spans centuries.
How Robert has come full circle from student to professor at the Troy University and the influences of John M. Long and Paul Yoder on his career, particularly on his decision to write for band.
Robert's first teaching job, his move to Tampa to teach at Pinellas Park and Clearwater High Schools, and of course Suncoast Sound.
RWS Music Company, C.L. Barnhouse, music publishing, copyright law, and why we can't legally copy parts for our kids.
The advice Robert gave his daughters as they embarked upon their careers as music educators.

Links:

Biography:

Robert W. Smith (b. 1958) is one of the most popular and prolific composers in America today. He has over 600 publications in print with the majority composed and arranged through his long association with Warner Bros. Publications and the Belwin catalog.

Mr. Smith's credits include many compositions and productions in all areas of the music field. His original works for winds and percussion have been programmed by countless military, university, high school, and middle school bands throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South America and Asia. His Symphony #1 (The Divine Comedy), Symphony #2 (The Odyssey), Symphony #3 (Don Quixote), Inchon and Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual have received worldwide critical acclaim. His educational compositions such as The Tempest, Encanto, and The Great Locomotive Chase have become standards for developing bands throughout the world.

Mr. Smith's music has received extensive airplay on major network television as well as inclusion in multiple motion pictures. From professional ensembles such as the United States Navy Band, United States Air Force Band, Boston Pops and the Atlanta Symphony to school bands and orchestras throughout the world, his music speaks to audiences in any concert setting. As a conductor, clinician and keynote speaker, Mr. Smith has performed throughout North America, Asia, South America, Europe and Australia. His music has been recorded by various ensembles and is available on CD and download through iTunes, Amazon, and other recorded music outlets.

Mr. Smith is the President/CEO of RWS Music Company, exclusively distributed through C. L. Barnhouse. In addition, he is currently teaching in the Music Industry program at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. His teaching responsibilities are focused in music composition, production, publishing and business.

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Episode 149 - Amy Knopps Feb 17, 2020

Show notes

Amy Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and the Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri, Columbia. In this episode, Amy shares her story of growing up in the Kansas City area and how she found her way to her dream job as the director of the Marching Mizzou.

Topics:

Amy's background growing up in Lee's Summit through her college experience as a student at the University of Missouri.
Amy's first job, the connections that made her first teaching job in Kansas City so special, and her first college teaching job at Eastern Michigan University.
Some lessons that we can apply to our own teaching from her story.
The Marching Mizzou, leadership, community, and the advantages of being the athletic band director at the flagship university of her native state.
The challenges of being a female band athletic band director and words of encouragement for young female band directors.

Links:

Biography:

Amy M. Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri where she directs Marching Mizzou, Mini Mizzou, Symphonic Band, and teaches courses in the music education curriculum of the School of Music. Prior to her appointment in the fall of 2017, Dr. Knopps served for seven years as Associate Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands in the School of Music and Dance at Eastern Michigan University. While at Eastern Michigan she was a Faculty Spotlight Recipient, the Eastern Michigan University Thank-A-Teacher Inaugural Recipient, and featured in a historic exhibition titled, "In Her Shoes: Forging Paths at EMU" as she was the first woman to direct the Eastern Michigan University Marching Band and serve as Associate Director of Bands.

Dr. Knopps earned degrees from The University of Georgia (DMA), the University of Kansas (MM), and the University of Missouri (BS, Ed.) where her principal conducting teachers were Dr. John P. Lynch and Dr. Dale J. Lonis. While at Georgia and Kansas she held conducting associate positions that involved conducting both concert and athletic bands as well as teaching courses in the music curriculum. During her time at The University of Georgia, Dr. Knopps received the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Director's Excellence Award and at the University of Kansas she received the Russell L. Wiley Graduate Conducting Award.

Additional teaching experience includes numerous years as Director of Bands at Center High School and Center Middle School in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri where she guided all aspects of the diverse and award winning band program. While in the Center School District, Dr. Knopps received the 2003 Missouri Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2004 You Make the Difference Award for her dedication and commitment to excellence in education. As an advocate for new wind music she solely commissioned and premiered Jonathan Newman's 1861 for concert band in 2003 and continues her commitment to contributing to the wind band repertoire through additional commissions for Symphonic Band at the University of Missouri.

Dr. Knopps continues to be an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across the United States and internationally having worked and performed throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. Each summer she serves as a clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Clinics held in Charleston, Illinois working with high school and college drum majors from across the country. Dr. Knopps is also known for her published contributions as she has authored several articles for School Band and Orchestra Magazine, and has contributed to seven volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. In addition to her published articles she has completed extensive research on American-Sponsored overseas secondary band programs in the People's Republic of China.

Dr. Knopps maintains professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), currently serving on the CBDNA Athletic Bands Committee, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Band Association (NBA), currently serving as the Missouri State Chair, Phi Beta Mu, Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, currently serving as the sponsor for the Eta Upsilon chapter, the Griffiths Leadership Society for Women, currently serving on the Executive Committee, and QEBH, the oldest of six secret honor societies at the University of Missouri. She currently resides in Columbia, Missouri with her two cats Buddy and Rocky.

Episode 148 - Mary Kate McNally Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

Mary Kate McNally is the Director of Athletic bands at Ohio Wesleyan University, a co-founder of the And We Were Heard project, and a tireless advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the band community.

Topics:

The band program at Ohio Wesleyan University, Mary Kate's musical origin story, and a high school band director that had a tremendous influence on her career.
Gender stereotypes in musical instruments and what we can do to help our boys feel comfortable with playing any instruments.
Advice for working with transgender and nonbinary students and creating meaningful dialogues to best serve all of our communities.
The Twin Bands of Kent State in the 1940s and being willing to learn from our mistakes and grow as music educators.
Mary Kate's experiences teaching in rural Eastern Colorado and some strategies for differentiating instruction when you have homogeneous students at different levels.
A report on And We Were Heard a year after its founding.

Links:

Biography:

Mary Kate McNally has been the Director of Athletic Bands at Ohio Wesleyan University since the fall of 2017. Under her leadership, the university's marching band performed in the fall of 2018 for the first time in almost six decades. Mary Kate earned her Bachelor of Music Education summa cum laude and with honors from Henderson State University in 2012 and her Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting from Kent State University in 2017. She was a public school teacher in Colorado for three years, where she was the K-12 music teacher for a small rural school district. She is an active member of the professional band directing community with memberships in the National Association for Music Education, the Ohio Music Education Association, and the College Band Directors National Assocation. She is also a board member for And We Were Heard, a digital recording project dedicated to promoting wind band works by underrepresented composers. Mary Kate is a self-professed crochet addict and lives with her hedgehog, Maestro.

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Episode 147 - Larry Neeck Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

Larry Neeck has written or arranged over 150 works for C.L. Barnhouse and is now retired after a 32 year career as a middle school band director in Rochester, New York.

Topics:

Larry's musical background growing up in Pennsylvania and how he passed on a chance to be a varsity quarterback to instead play bells in the band.
Larry's journey from cocktail hour pianist to middle school band director in Rochester, New York.
The story of how Larry got his start as a composer writing jazz charts for his own students and some advice for composers about getting their music played.
Advice and perspectives on teaching middle school including some excellent advice about being yourself in your classroom.
The challenges of changing from a 7-9 junior high school to a 6-8 middle school.

Links:

Biography:

Larry Neeck is an internationally recognized composer, with more than one-hundred fifty works for concert band, jazz ensemble, and orchestra published by C.L. Barnhouse Company and Arco String Publications. He is frequently commissioned to write for schools, bands, and festivals, and often works as a guest conductor and clinician. His CDs, "Swing Machine," recorded by the Studio A Big Band, and "Midnight Escape," recorded by the Washington Winds are available from Walking Frog Records. His music has been heard on PBS television, and he has received numerous ASCAP awards for his compositions.

In addition to his work as a composer, Mr. Neeck had a successful career as a middle school band director, retiring after thirty-two years from the Webster (NY) Central School District. He directed concert bands, jazz ensembles, taught wind and percussion classes, and co-founded the Willink Middle School Student/Parent Band, now in its twenty-fifth season. The years he spent as a school band director have informed his composing style, resulting in works that engage students and audiences alike.

Mr. Neeck holds a B.A. in Music from the University of Pittsburgh, and an M.M. in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), and the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA).

Episode 146 - Jay Londgren Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

Jay Londgren is the band director at the Singapore American School, one of the largest international schools in the world. He joins the show to talk about teaching band abroad and shares stories of teaching in Venezuela, South Korea, and Singapore.

Topics:

Jay's early years as a musician and some teachers who mentored him on his way to becoming a music teacher.
Moving to Venezuela, teaching in that first job, and some anecdotes from that job.
His move to the Korean International School (KIS), a terrific story about his first budget meeting with his new principal, and the growth of the program during his time there.
The demographics of the international schools and the founding of the KIMEA.
The music programs at the Singapore American School.

Links:

Biography:

Jay Londgren is currently director of HS Bands and Jazz at Singapore American School. Prior to SAS he served as head of music at Korea International School and taught PreS-12 music at CIPLC in Barcelona, Venezuela. At native of rural Minnesota and former "farm kid," Jay earned his undergraduate degrees (with majors in Music, Education and English Composition) at Luther College in Decorah, IA. He is also a graduate of the American Band College. Jay has spent his entire career overseas. He is an active member in the Association of Music in International Schools (AMIS) community, bringing students to festivals throughout the world and presenting at AMIS conferences in Scotland, Bangkok, Seoul, Dubai and Hong Kong. He currently serves on the AMIS Board of Directors. Additionally, while in Korea he helped found the Korea International Music Educators Association (KIMEA). KIMEA grew to host (and continues to host) multiple MS and HS music festivals throughout the year in Korea.

When not at work you might find him running, taking pictures or attempting to cook something - all three of which he does with mixed success.

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Episode 145 - John A. Thomson Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

John Thomson enjoyed a hugely successful 40-year career as a band director at New Trier High School (IL) and East Allegheny High School (PA). He is also a contributing author to the Instrumentalist Magazine.

Topics:

John's early career including playing trumpet duets with his father, how he got his first job at East Allegheny High School, and how he came to write reviews for the Instrumentalist.
A discussion of his program at East Allegheny High School and his thoughts about selecting literature including playing transcriptions.
The program at New Trier High School including his emphasis on sight reading and chamber ensembles.
Thoughts about being patient in your career, the importance of fundamentals to the band, commissioning new music, and raising funds for big projects.

Links:

Biography:

John A. Thomson received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in trombone performance and music education from Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with Richard Strange and Philip Catelinet. While completing course work towards a PhD in Music Education at Northwestern University, he served for two years as a Teaching Assistant in both the Departments of Conducting and Performing Organizations and Music Education, where he studied with John Paynter and Bennett Reimer.

Mr. Thomson was the Director of Bands at East Allegheny High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1981. Under his direction, East Allegheny bands presented feature performances at the 1976 Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the 1975 Music Educators National Conference Eastern Regional Meeting, two Mid-East Instrumental Music Conferences in 1973 and 1977, and three Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Conferences in 1970, 1975 and 1980.

From 1982 to 2007, Mr. Thomson was Director of Bands at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. During these years, his ensembles regularly performed with established guest conductors, accompanied well-known solo artists, and collaborated with various contemporary composers leading to sixteen world premiere performances. In 1984, the wind ensemble completed a successful concert tour of Switzerland, Germany and Holland. He conducted a New Trier Honor Band on a concert tour of Hawaii and Australia in 1998. Under his direction, New Trier wind ensembles performed at the l985 and l990 Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinics, the 1994 Music Educators National Biennial In-Service Conference, the l989, l993, 1998 and 2007 Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conferences, the l990 Western Illinois University Band "Showcase", the 1996 Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Conference, the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Superstate Festivals at the University of Illinois and the 2003 Chicagoland "Invitational" Concert Band Festival. The wind ensemble received the Downbeat Magazine Award for best classical instrumental ensemble (band) in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004.

For twenty-three summers, Mr. Thomson conducted student and staff bands at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan, and conducted the camp's 1992 International Band on their four week performance tour in Europe. Currently, Mr. Thomson is a Contributing Editor and New Music Reviewer for THE INSTRUMENTALIST Magazine and is active as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator. Following his New Trier retirement, he served for 10 years as an adjunct professor in music education at Roosevelt University in Chicago and has observed student teachers in the field for Northwestern University and the University of Illinois.

Personal awards include several National Band Association Citations of Excellence, the American School Band Directors Association Stanbury Award, the Mr. Holland's Opus Award (sponsored by Bob Rogers Travel), the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award (sponsored by Quinlin & Fabish Music Company), the Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Illinois Bandmaster Award and the Phi Beta Mu Illinois Band Directors Hall of Fame at Northwestern University.

Mr. Thomson is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and serves as that organization's Goldman Memorial Citation Committee Chair. Additional professional affiliations include the National Band Association (Revelli Composition Award Committee), American School Band Directors Association (Past Illinois State Chair), National Association for Music Education, Illinois Music Educators Association (Past District VII Band Chair and All-State Selection Committee), Phi Beta Mu and Phi Mu Alpha.

Episode 144 - James M. David Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

James David is a composer on the faculty of Colorado State University. He's enjoyed a great deal of recent success with his composition for band and joins the show to tell his story.

Topics:

Jim's background growing up in Southern Georgia and the importance of gospel and jazz in his musical development.
Advice for young composers and what we can do as band directors and music teachers to help young, aspiring composers to realize their dreams.
Commissioning music and some thoughts about commercial publishing versus self-publishing.

Links:

Biography:

Dr. James M. David (b. 1978) is an internationally recognized composer who currently serves as associate professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University and is particularly known for his works involving winds and percussion. His symphonic works for winds have been performed by some of the nation's most prominent professional and university ensembles including the U.S. Army and Air Force Bands, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Des Moines Symphony, the Ohio State University Bands, Northwestern University Bands, and the University of North Texas Wind Symphony among many others. His compositions have been presented at more than fifty national and international conferences throughout North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. These events include the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the College Band Directors National Association Conferences, the National Band Association Conferences, the College Music Society National Conference, the Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference, seven International Clarinet Fests, the International Horn Symposium, the World Saxophone Congress, the International Trombone Festival, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Among the distinctions David has earned as a composer are an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, the National Band Association Merrill Jones Award, national first-place winner in the MTNA Young Artists Composition Competition, two Global Music Awards, and national first-place winner in the National Association of Composers (USA) Young Composers Competition. Commissions include projects for Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Zachary Shemon (Prism Quartet), the Oasis Quartet, BlueShift Percussion Quartet, Gerry Pagano (St. Louis Symphony), The International Saxophone Symposium and Competition, The Playground Ensemble, and the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association. As a native of southern Georgia, Dr. David began his musical training under his father Joe A. David, III, a renowned high school band director and professor of music education in the region. This lineage can be heard in his music through the strong influence of jazz and other Southern traditional music mixed with contemporary idioms. He graduated with honors from the University of Georgia and completed his doctorate in composition at Florida State University under Guggenheim and Pulitzer recipients Ladislav Kubik and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. His music is available through Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Wingert Jones Publications, and Potenza Music and has been recorded for the Naxos, Mark, GIA WindWorks, Albany, Summit, Luminescence, and MSR Classics labels.

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Episode 143 - Tim Heath Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

Tim Heath is the Director of Athletic Bands at Wake Forest University.

Topics:

Tim's background growing up in Eastern North Carolina playing trumpet in the high school band and drum set on the side and how he ended up becoming a music teacher.
Tim's early teaching jobs, his decision to go back to school to earn a doctorate, and why that led him to teaching middle school for a year.
Thoughts about how to communicate the value of the arts.
Being a doctoral student at the University of Alabama and working with the Million Dollar Band.
Moving from Samford University to Wake Forest University and what he's learned as a college athletic band director that he would apply if he could go back to his days as a high school band director.

Links:

Biography:

Dr. Tim Heath is the Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Teaching Professor at Wake Forest University. Prior to Wake Forest, he was the Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Samford University. He also served as Assistant Director of the Wind Ensemble and was a member of the conducting faculty during his tenure at Samford. Prior to teaching at Samford University, Dr. Heath was a graduate teaching assistant with The University of Alabama Bands. At the University of Alabama, Dr. Heath conducted the pep bands for all major sports, The University of Alabama Concert Band, and served as a staff member with The Million Dollar Band where he also arranged for the Million Dollar Band's Front Ensemble. Dr. Heath received the Outstanding Instrumental Music Education Graduate Student awarded for the 2016-2017 academic school year. Dr. Heath served as the front ensemble coordinator for the Music City Drum & Bugle Corps for the 2014 season and has held staff positions with Methodist University's "Pride of the Carolina's" in Fayetteville, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke's "Spirit of the Carolina's" in Pembroke, North Carolina. Dr. Heath's previous collegiate teaching experience includes instructor of music at The University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive, North Carolina where he directed the pep band and instructed music education courses. Dr. Heath is an active clinician and adjudicator for both concert band and marching band and is a regular conductor for the Cookeville (Tennessee) Community Band's Summer Concert Series. As a music educator, Dr. Heath has presented sessions and research at both the state and national levels and is published in Percussive Notes and The Instrumentalist. Dr. Heath holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and a Doctorate from The University of Alabama. Dr. Heath is an active member of the National Association for Music Education, College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, College Music Society, Kappa Delta Epsilon Education Fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon, the Percussive Arts Society's Scholarly Research Committee, and is an Honorary Member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity at the University of Alabama.

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