Bandwidth

Bill Wynn is the Director of Bands at Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia. He is at the helm of a model program in a rural community which may seem like an atypical situation, but he's created a powerhouse, and still manages to compartmentalize his life to be excellent in his career and also be present at home and enjoy life. Thank you as well to his wife Jill for joining us for this interview.

This is a illuminating and refreshing conversation with a younger cross section of the band director/former band director world. Already a little hardened and jaded, how do we envision the future of music education and our role in it?

Genice is the Director of Bands at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, CO. She leads a powerhouse program and has made a mark everywhere she's been, developing great programs. I get to chat a bit with her about the boys club and how she broke through the glass ceiling that far too many women encounter in the profession.

This is the tail end of my interview with Dr. Mayne. I made a bit of a mistake in editing and thought I had a lot more recorded audio than I actually did, so this is going to be a short one. Please enjoy the tail end of this interview.

This episode features Dr. Richard Mayne, retired band director from the University of Northern Colorado. A true master teacher and first class human, he continues to influence music education in the state. Nick, Britt, and I road tripped down to Sedona, AZ to visit he and his wife, Cindy, to find out the keys to not just his successful career, but also his family life. This was a long interview, so I've split it into two parts. This is part one.

I've long admired Jonathan Grantham, director of bands at Amador Valley High School. Not only are his bands simply amazing, but the culture in that program is something that has been intentionally and meticulously crafted. He truly is one of the master teachers of our time. Check out his blog at https://accidentalexpertise.wordpress.com/ for some truly great insights.

Nick is back, this time in a round table with Johnny and Sara Wynes, formerly of Campus Middle School and Cherry Creek High School, and now at Punahou School. We introduce a new discussion segment, called "Are You Buying or Selling", talking about like-instrument grouping and a band director version of Physical 100.

Tim Libby is one of the most highly respected band directors in the State of Colorado. His program at Cherry Creek High School has been a model program for a long time. That school comes with a lot of beneficial things that seem built in, but it also comes with different kinds of expectations than your typical high school. Tim shares a lot of the wisdom that he's gathered over the years about how his program runs, why he does what he does, and how he makes the most of the people around him.

Keith Farmer is the Director of Bands at Grandview High School in Aurora, CO. Slight correction to my intro, but he is not the first director at that school, but has spent the majority of his career there, and continues to be active in the band community. He has continued to evolve his program, his teaching, and has taken healthy steps towards maintaining a balance between work and his personal life without detrimental effects on his program. If there's proof that it can be done, Keith is doing it.

Danny Schmidt is the retired Director of Bands at Northern Arizona University, and Mark Falzarano is a former colleague of mine in Hawaiʻi, having taught at Punahou School, and is now teaching in Germany at the International School of Frankfurt Rein-Main. We discuss the band industrial complex, the concept of Maximum Viable Product, and the possibility of pressing the reset button when it comes to band programs.