Behind the Baton

Sunday Spark: Inspiring Insights for a Bright Week Ahead

"Our success is connected. Your success is our success."

Annie Adams is in her sixth year K-12 vocal and instrumental for Thunder Ridge Schools in Kensington and Agra, Kansas.  She earned her bachelor’s in music education at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS and her master’s in clarinet performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Annie taught band for two years in Oklahoma before moving to North Carolina.  After graduate school, Annie worked in Scotland and then taught private lessons on clarinet, fiddle and guitar in North Carolina for 12 years.  In 2018, Annie returned to Kansas with her family to teach for Thunder Ridge. 

Annie enjoys spending time with her two boys and husband, working on family projects, and adventure racing.  She performs fiddle locally with her dad and has recently jumped into horse ownership and horse training.

Connect with Annie Adams

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I had the privilege of leading a professional development workshop for music educators in the Northwest part of Kansas. In attendance were band, choir and orchestra directors as well as general music teachers at the elementary level; all are from predominantly small and rural schools. And...some teach K-12 Music - wow!

During our time together I asked the participants three questions:

1. What does success look like in small and/or rural schools?

The music educators in this episode are amazing...I hope you are able to find some inspiration from their stories.

~Shawn

Brandon J. Lesando is the Director of Bands at Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas, Chair of East Central Kansas Music Educators Association HS honor bands, and the President-Elect of the the Kansas Bandmasters Association. While at Blue Valley Southwest, Lesando has presented clinics on program and project management, brass pedagogy, band travel and planning, and ensemble sound concepts, and has commissioned three new works for the wind band medium. Under his direction, the Blue Valley Southwest Band program has flourished into performing on regional and national stages as a 2-time Bands of America Regional Finalist medaling in class AA and earning a caption award in music, 2 large ensemble and 4 chamber ensemble appearances at the annual Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop and a 2-time featured stage performer at Music for All concert band festivals.

Lesando is a graduate of the University of North Florida where he studied horn and euphonium and earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree, Cum Laude. He is currently pursuing his Master of Music Education degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder and was named Outstanding Young Music Educator of the Year in 2018 for the East Central District of the Kansas Music Educators Association.

Connect with Brandon Lesando

• Email

• [email protected]

Dr. Melody Causby is Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to coming to The University of Southern Mississippi, Causby was on the faculty at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina for three years, first as the Assistant Director of Bands, then as the Interim Director of Bands. During her eleven years of public school teaching, the programs she ran grew in size and quality, and she served her district and state band organizations in several leadership capacities.

Dr. Catheryn Shaw Foster currently serves as Assistant Professor of Practice of Music Education at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Her responsibilities include working with graduate students in the Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction program. She taught public school in Georgia, serving as the Director of Bands at Lowndes Middle School in Valdosta and the Assistant Director of Bands at Perry High School in Perry. During this time, Foster was an active member of Districts VIII and XI, serving as the District Chair, as well as the Honor Band Coordinator for District VIII.

The Rural Band Director Alliance is a newly formed national organization for rural band directors. Teaching band in a rural area comes with different challenges and rewards that are often only understood by other rural band directors. The purpose of this group is to provide a supportive and uplifting community for band directors in rural areas. This group is intended to be a safe place for rural band directors to share their struggles, experiences, and advice.

Connect with Melody & Catheryn

• Email
  • [email protected]

• Rural Band Director Alliance

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/207618192221782/