Eric Combs is a middle school band director in Olney, Illinois and is dedicated to helping his peers through his Sound Beginnings website and Thoughts from a Beginning Band Director Facebook page.

Topics:

• Eric’s background and how he overcame his early self-doubts to become a very successful middle school director in Only, Illinois.
• Eric’s impulse to share his strategies and successes as a teacher with others and his work to help other band directors find success.
• A few tips and best practices for first and second year band directors including being willing to take the time to visit other successful programs in your area.
• The system of differentiated instruction that Eric uses and a discussion of classroom management.

Links:

• Sound Beginnings
• McCracken Middle School Band
• Ed Lisk: The Creative Director
• David Newell: Classroom Management in the Music Room
• Scott Rush: Habits of a Successful Middle School Band Director
• Stone: Shadows of Eternity

Biography:

Eric Combs earned both his bachelors and his masters in music education from Eastern Illinois University. He has been a 6-8 grade beginning band director for 14 years in rural Illinois, and has worked in his current job in Olney, Illinois for the past 11 years. Mr. Combs' bands regularly receive perfect first superior ratings at contest. Under his direction, the band program has been named three years in a row a "Support Music Merit Award" winning school through the NAMM Foundation's "Best Communities for Music Education" program. Mr. Combs' and the RCMS band program was recently recognized in a regular session the United States Congress. Mr. Combs spends his free time providing free materials geared towards educators who are new to the field of beginner band directing, including his "Thoughts From a Beginning Band Director" Facebook blog, and his "Sound Beginnings Beginner Band Series" website.