I believe

I believe in music.

2008 Midwest Band & Orchestra Conference

It really doesn’t get any bigger than Midwest.    Don’t bring MENC’s All-East into the conversation because truth be known – the clinics, concerts, and vendors are not that much better (if at all) than many state conferences.  Midwest is a glorious week in December that for many might be “The Most Wonderful Time of theYear” (With humble apologies to Capital One Bowl Week – Go Pitt!).

I can smell the funnel cake from here…

So Dr. Pisano says to me ” You’re hosting the November Blog Carnival.”
I say “Sure!”
He didn’t share with me that this carnival lacks funnel cake…very distressing.

But we are lining up a series of great posts for the November carnival.  I can almost smell the funnel cake from here…

There is plenty of room for new posts as well as bringing back some old ones that have received attention.  So far I have really enjoyed reading a number of older submissions and reflecting upon my current perspective compared to the one I had reading it the first time.  It really is amazing how this campaign has taken off, continued to evolve, and is bringing some refreshing conversation to the perspective.

If you have not submitted before, never fear as this is easier that cleaning your band office coffee pot after a two week coffee hiatus….not there was mold growing mind you, just a penicilin experiment gone awry. The process is actually very easy.  You can find the Music Education Submittal Page by clicking on the following link: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4443.html. 

I am looking forward to hosting, so come one and all and step right up to the greatest show on earth!  And if you are able, I am really jonesing for some funnel cake…

Where there’s smoke there’s fire…and hey, is that my middle school band room?

The morning was calm.  Too calm.  After taking one last drink of coffee, I picked up my scores, baton, and tuner and began walking towards the podium.  In just seconds part of my middle school band would descend upon our rehearsal room eager to learn and play music (or maybe it was just the sugar from the snack line at lunch).  But I never made it to the podium.  Suddenly a completely refurbished alto clarinet burst into flame (it had been rebuilt and sent to me from another district but smelled of smoke…).  It quickly consumed two chairs, my Wenger catalog (that was sad…), and the rain stick.  I realized the horror of it all – MY MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND ROOM WAS ON FIRE.

From Student to Teacher

Today marked the second day without a student teacher for the first time since Mid-January. Over the past eight weeks, I had the pleasure of working with Nick Samson (from YSU), and in a couple of weeks Krista Schmidt (from GCC) will join me. I enjoy the opportunity to have student teachers come in to the program, and watch them make that final transition, from student to teacher…