In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Chuck Reynolds, Director of Bands at Madison Central High School in Madison, MS, a city of around 25,000 located just north of Jackson. Chuck talks about working in a program with seven band directors in what was once the largest high school in the state, and we'll learn more about the process that takes place when it's time to add a new member to the team of music educators. He'll also talk about how section leaders are chosen in the band program, and more. 

This conversation was recorded January 27, 2022.

Producer's Note: On Thursday, February 3, 2022 Memphis was hit with a pretty serious ice storm that caused power outages for nearly 140,000 homes and businesses. The studio where After Hours is produced was left without power for more than four days, so we were unable to upload an episode on Friday the 4th. We apologize for the missed week.

In this episode, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with David Aydelott, Band Director at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a city of around 150,000 people which is also the home of Middle Tennessee State University.
From 1992 to 2019, David was Director of Bands at four different schools in Tennessee. Then in 2019 he began serving in an administrative role as Director of Fine Arts for Williamson County Schools, a district just south of Nashville. He returned to the classroom as Director of Bands at Siegel High School in July 2021. 
Our conversation is broken up in to two episodes and this is part 2.

In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with David Aydelott, Director of Bands at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the sixth largest city in the state with a population of just over 150,000, located 35 miles southeast of Nashville. 
David talks about the lessons he learned as a school administrator that have made him a more effective band director, the importance of collaboration between different artistic disciplines within a school, and more. Our conversation is broken up in to two episodes and this is part 1.

In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Jeremy Tate from Gibson County High School in Dyer, Tennessee. We'll learn about the long journey to performing in the 2022 Tournament of Roses Parade for the Gibson County Mass Band, which is made up of musicians from five high schools in this rural part of northwest Tennessee.
You can see the band performing at the Tournament of Roses Parade here.

This week Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Kristin Leitterman, Assistant Professor of Oboe at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
They'll be talking about ways to allow a young oboist to get the most out of their instrument, advice for music educators who may have oboists in their program, and the importance of always playing with quality reeds.
Dr. Leitterman mentions an oboe fingering chart at 23:30. Here's a link to it.
Our conversation was recorded January 3, 2022.

This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with John Easley, who has been an Educational Representative for Amro Music for the last five years, but was a band director in several school districts in northwest Tennessee, including over three decades in Union City, a town of around 11,000 people. 
They'll be talking about creative ways of building support for a band program in a small, rural community, the challenges that face young band directors, and more.
Our conversation was recorded September 24, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part two.

This week Nick Averwater talks with John Easley, who is now an Educational Representative for Amro Music, but for over three decades was a band director in several school districts in northwest Tennessee. Most of his time as a music educator was spent in Union City, a town of around 11,000 people. 
They'll be talking about John's early days as a band director, the value of having patience when growing a band program, and more.
Our conversation was recorded September 24, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part one.

This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Joe Lamond, President and CEO of NAMM, The National Association of Music Merchants. 
They'll be talking about the technological advances that have happened as a result of the pandemic, the work NAMM does at the national level to strengthen music programs at the local level, and more.
The conversation was recorded November 15, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part two.

This week Nick Averwater talks with Joe Lamond, President and CEO of NAMM. 
They'll be talking about the history of the organization, how the approach of the music education system in the United States differs from other countries, and how the music products industry plays an important role in advocating for music education.
The conversation was recorded November 15, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part one.

This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with John Mlynczak, Vice President of Music Education and Technology at Hal Leonard. 
In this episode they'll be talking about advocating for music education, defining success for young musicians, and more.
The conversation was recorded November 23, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part two.