NC Music Educator Conference Edition 2022

Francisco and Boston Gay Mens’ Choruses,
and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
Hailed by Herbie Hancock as showing “great
promise,” Thomas has also created music
in the contemporary jazz ensemble idiom.
His first album, I AM, debuted at #1 on
iTunes Jazz Charts and peaked at #13 on the
Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Chart.
His second release, We Will Know: An LGBT
Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements, earned him a 2014 Lavender
Rhino Award by The History Project, acknowledging his work as
an activist in the Boston LGBTQ community. He has served on the
faculties of Berklee College of Music and The Peabody Institute
of Johns Hopkins University. He is currently assistant professor of
composition at The University of Texas at Austin.
Warm-up and Ensemble Development Exercises
that Work!
This session offers specific exercises you can use to develop
ensemble performance. These focused warm-ups isolate and target
improvement in the areas of balance, blend, intonation, rhythm,
rhythmic subdivision, listening, articulation, dynamics and
virtually every aspect of large ensemble playing. Useful for band
and orchestra directors of any grade level.
Peter Loel Boonshaft
Peter Loel Boonshaft has been invited
to speak and conduct in every state in the
nation and around the world. Honored
by NAfME and Music For All as the first
recipient of the “George M. Parks Award
for Leadership in Music Education,”
Boonshaft is director of education for Jupiter
Band Instruments. He is the author of the
critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching
Music with Passion, Teaching Music with
Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He is also co-author of
Alfred Music’s method book series Sound Innovations. As well, his
weekly “Boonshaft’s Blog” for music educators continues to inspire
teachers everywhere.
Habits of a Significant Band Director- Sponsored
by GIA
The Habits Synergy Model focuses on how knowledge,
communication, experience, heart energy, physical energy,
musicianship and effectiveness create synergy to produce a
successful music educator. Scott Rush explores how musical and
personal significance lasts for generations as we address the social,
emotional, and musical needs of our students and teachers.
Creating Habits of Success in the Young Band-
Sponsored by GIA
A strong pedagogical and musical foundation is crucial to the
artistic development of young bands. Scott Rush will address the
first days of instruction, transitioning to the “small instrument,”
basic solfege instruction, rhythm vocabulary, first-time challenges,
developmentally appropriate musical teaching strategies,
fundamentals time and necessary supplemental materials.
Participants will also discover new ways to effectively use multiple
technologies as we “Redefine Success” in the full-ensemble setting
to develop comprehensive musicianship in every student. We will
conclude with discussions on acceptance, significance, and culture.
Scott Rush
Scott Rush is the team lead for the
Habits series (GIA Publications, Inc.)
and is the former director of bands at
Wando High School in Mount Pleasant,
S.C. He is a graduate of the New England
Conservatory of Music and the University
of South Carolina. He currently serves
as co-conductor of the Charleston Wind
Symphony. Under his direction, the Wando
Symphonic Band performed at the 2007 Midwest International
Band and Orchestra Clinic and were recipients of the 2007 Sudler
Flag of Honor administered by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
His marching bands were two-time BOA Grand National finalists.
Everyday Teaching Activities to Improve your
Conducting- Sponsored by NBA
features lab band ECU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Most teachers believe improving their conducting would
improve their teaching, but often despair over how to achieve such
improvement in the limited minutes available to the busy teacher.
This three-part clinic is based on the belief that every teacher can
teach themselves to conduct better by strategically utilizing the
activities routine to each workday. Session one shows how teachers
can use the warm-up routines that they already do to improve their
conducting communication, especially as it pertains to influencing
the tone of musicians. It stems from my belief that simply using the
time we already spend with musicians in a more strategic way can
improve the teacher as well as the students. Session two focuses
on how we influence time as a conductor. Most of us already have
great success in teaching time through groups that don’t require
conducting. This session aims to point out how teachers can use
skills that they already possess to improve their skills when trying
to teach/conduct rhythm and time in the conducted rehearsal.
Session three focuses on how strategic score study can build and
focus how we listen in rehearsal. It is built on the belief that score
study can be done strategically in short amounts of time that fit
within a teacher’s schedule.
Tim Robblee
Tim Robblee is the director of bands
and associate professor of conducting at
Shenandoah Conservatory, where he guides
all aspects of the wind band program,
teaches conducting, and conducts the
Wind Ensemble and EDGE Ensemble.
Prior to this, he was associate director of
bands at Northwestern University and
also music director and conductor of the
Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has also served as director of
bands at Washington State University in Pullman, and Willamette
University in Salem, Ore. He holds a Ph.D. in wind band
conducting and music education from the University of Minnesota,
an MM in conducting from Northwestern University, and a BA in
music education from Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.
Developing Ensemble Skills through Ensemble
Games
features lab band Hickory Ridge High School Wind Ensemble
This practical rehearsal clinic will focus on fostering artistic
curiosity through ensemble “games.” We will explore ways to
develop ensemble skills throughout the rehearsal that not only
encourage deeper student engagement, but also maximize
inspirational opportunities. Games will focus on music
fundamentals such as listening, pulse, articulations, and intonation.
The clinic will be divided into three parts. The first part will
demonstrate ways to incorporate games into the warm-up routine,
and focus on ensemble pulse, intonation, and articulations. The
second part will explore practical ways to engage students in
the rehearsal process using games that focus more on listening
and alignment. The third part will discuss how to implement
these games into the overall curriculum. By the end of the clinic,
attendees will have new tools to add to their rehearsal toolkit they
can immediately incorporate into their rehearsals that will engage
their students in a different and deeper way.
Dr. Margaret Underwood
Dr. Margaret Underwood is director of
bands and associate professor of music at
Western Carolina University where she
conducts the Wind Ensemble, guides all
aspects of the wind bands, and teaches
courses in music education. In addition
to her presentations at numerous state
conferences, she has also presented her
research at the College Band Directors
National Association regional and
national conferences, the World Association of Symphonic Bands
and Ensembles International Conference, the US Navy Band
International Saxophone Symposium, and the International Society
for Research and Promotion of Wind Music. Her research on
Robert Kurka’s The Good Soldier Schweik Suite is published in The
Journal of World Association of Band and Symphonic Ensembles.
Diversifying Your Concert Program – Band New
Music Reading Session
Representation matters! It is imperative our students see
themselves represented in the music we study and perform in
our classrooms. This session will explore up to twenty new and
diverse works for concert band (Grades 1 – 5) which are written
by underrepresented composers, including those who identify as
women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+. Our intent is to expose band
directors to quality new works by wind band composers who are
not regularly programmed in efforts to help educators diversify
their concert programs. This session will introduce attendees
to several wonderful pieces and composers, and also provide
resources for further research on diverse and talented composers
who are writing music today. All attendees are welcome to sit and
play in the ensemble. Bring your band instrument and come learn
about some amazing new works for concert band!
Carolina Perez
Carolina Perez is an instructor of music at the North Carolina
School of Science and Mathematics, where she teaches Wind
Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and music theory.
Carolina Perez, Brian Myers and Page Newsome
Brian Myers
Brian Myers is the current president of the East Central District
Bandmasters Association. He has served as the director of bands at
Green Level High School since the school opened in 2019.
Page Newsome
Page Newsome has served as director of bands at Middle Creek
High School since 2020, and earned the NCECDBA Band Director
of the Year Award in 2021
Musical Nourishment: Designing Your Daily
Instructional Menu
Middle School Band is where students begin the foundational
development that supports their musical journey. This session
will focus on the ways we organize our instructional time –
are we stuck in a rigid and linear approach or do we foster an
environment that encourages flexibility with a three-dimensional
array of choices? Attendees will have the opportunity to re-imagine
ways to allow for creativity within the structure of each class for
optimal musical nourishment.
Dominic Talanca, Kathy Johnson and Asa Burk
Dominic Talanca
Dominic Talanca is director of bands and associate professor of
music at UNC Wilmington.
Kathy Johnson
Kathy Johnson, adjunct professor of woodwind and brass
techniques at the University of North Texas, has led a distinguished
career of 40 years teaching music education in Texas.
Asa Burk
Asa Burk is recently retired from a 30-year career where he
taught in middle and high schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Culture Building: Redefining Success through
Excellence and Community
Among the many losses we have endured as a result of
COVID-19 is the loss of community and the erosion of the culture
of our program. Students and directors have felt this loss deeply.
As we continue emerging from the pandemic, it is time to focus on
34 | NORTH CAROLINA MUSIC EDUCATOR NORTH CAROLINA MUSIC EDUCATOR | 35