Brian Wis, the band director at St. Charles North High School in St. Charles, Illinois joins me for a discussion about booster groups, music literacy, and to share his thoughts about music education.

Topics:

• Brian’s background growing up around the Cavaliers and how he got his instrumental start as a fourth grader on the bugle.
• Building strong relationships with your colleagues to create a shared philosophy and to join forces for the greater good.
• Booster groups and the importance of strong bylaws.
• Thoughts about getting along with administrators and an important bit of advice to avoid conflicts.
• Music literacy, the emphasis that Brian and his colleagues place on it, and how it helps his band program.
• The Facebook Band Director’s Group and the state of music teacher education in the United States.

Links:

• Brian Wis - Teaching and Music
• St. Charles North Band
• NoteNames+ in the Apple App Store

Biography:

Brian Wis teaches bands at St. Charles North High School in St. Charles, Illinois. His bachelors degree is from Northern Illinois University, his masters degree is from VanderCook College of Music, and he completed his doctoral coursework at the University of Illinois (UIUC). Before coming to SCN Mr. Wis was a faculty member and administrator at Roosevelt University, and prior to that taught at Naperville North High School.

A "hopeless early-adopter" in technology, Brian can be found incorporating new technology into the classroom regularly. He is also a self-taught iOS developer with several music training apps available for free in the App Store including NoteNames+ and RhythmTapper Turbo. He is the originator of the Band Director Group on Facebook, a group which currently numbers more than 27,000 members.

Mr. Wis has had his ensembles invited to the Super State Invitational, the Illinois All State Convention, the National Concert Band Festival, Disney Honors, and the Midwest International Clinic. He is also a former Golden Apple Finalist. He is married to Ramona Wis who is a music professor at North Central College, writer, and yogi.