TN Musician Vol. 69 No. 1 (proof 4)

TMEA STATE ORCHESTRA CHAIR’S MESSAGE
by Michelle Clupper
One of things that I truly believe will
have a benefit statewide is to ensure
that all of our orchestra directors have
a mentor, whether they are new to the
profession or just the region.
“CAN YOU TEACH ORCHESTRA?”
Those are the words that changed my
teaching career and one could say, my life.
In the spring of 2010, I was asked by my
then principal if I could teach orchestra
due to a series of unfortunate staff reductions
at our school. My response? “Am I
certified, or can I?” He told me that he had
complete faith in my ability to actually
teach the class. Truthfully, I wasn’t so sure.
So many questions swirled around in my
head. Would the kids dismiss me because
I’m a wind player? Would I shortchange
them due to the fact that I’m a band person?
The answer to both of those questions
of course turned out to be no. My orchestra
students were kind, helpful and funny. I
learned as they learned and I even stopped
saying things like “get your horns up”!
So much has changed for me over the
years but one thing has stayed the same: I
love to go into the classroom every day and
work with young people. I am privileged
to be in my seventeenth year of teaching,
fourteen of which have been at Farragut
High School in Knoxville. At Farragut, I
currently serve as the orchestra director,
the assistant band director and also teach
AP music theory and history of rock.
I have come to truly understand the importance
of having a mentor as an educator.
I was lucky enough as a young teacher
to start my career under the guidance of
veteran teachers, like Mark Connell and
Ron Rogers that cared about my success or
failure as a band director. They wanted my
students to have a good experience in band and they knew that meant that I needed to
know my craft. By 2010, people had stopped referring to me as a new teacher. I began to
think that I no longer need a mentor, and then suddenly found myself as a “new” teacher
once again. When I found out that I would be teaching orchestra, I quickly called on
veteran teachers around me and found an educational support system in the directors
in my region. Katie Middleton, Peggy Jones, Gary Wilkes and many others have been my
sounding board for concert literature and answered more questions than you can possibly
imagine. Without their willingness to help a “new” teacher, where would I be? Now that
I am a few years down the road, I feel much more comfortable choosing literature and
discussing technique with my students but that is due in large part to the mentorship of
the teachers around me.
As a veteran music educator, I feel like it is so easy to get wrapped up in our day-to-day
tasks and forget that newer directors might be floundering and need guidance in those same
tasks. I also once believed that if someone needed my help or expertise, they would contact
me and ask. I now know that is not always the case. Sometimes you either don’t know whom
to call or you are afraid that someone might see your questions as a sign of incompetence.
One of things that I truly believe will have a benefit statewide is to ensure that all of our
orchestra directors have a mentor, whether they are new to the profession or just the region.
One of my favorite moments of the 2016 TMEA Conference was attending the orchestra
caucus where I had the pleasure of meeting many of the other directors from across
the state. There was so much wonderful advice given, positive ideas shared and encouragement
offered that I suddenly felt like part of a much larger community. The most interesting
concept that I took away from the meeting was the idea of strengthening our
connections across the state. We decided to look into assembling a state-wide directory
of orchestra teachers that would be compiled from the regional association membership
lists. In my opinion, this is a very exciting prospect and something that I would find extremely
beneficial.
In closing, I would encourage each and every one of you to be an active voice in your
school, district, region and state. We are so lucky to have incredible teachers with a diverse
set of skills and strengths and we should be our own best advocate. If you have a
successful teaching strategy that you would like to share, please apply to present a session
at TMEA and share your knowledge for the benefit of your colleagues around the state.
I would also encourage all of you who are on Facebook to visit the group “Tennessee Orchestra
Directors” which is a forum for topics related to orchestra programs across the
state. If you have ideas that you would like to share or ways that I can help you or your
program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
28 | TENNESSEE MUSICIAN | 2016 | Volume 69, No. 1