Rite of String

As teachers, we put in countless hours for our programs to be successful, but we also often find numerous leadership roles to help serve our professional community and support our colleagues.

In this episode, we talk to Brian Coatney, an orchestra director from Plano, TX, to discuss the various leadership opportunities and what they entail. He also talks with us about how he balances his responsibilities between campus, region, and state level organizations.

Many of us have taken on the task of growing a small program, but fewer have been challenged to build a brand new program from scratch.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Deborah Perkins, a retired teacher from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, to talk about building programs from ground up, planning international music trips, and also her time running the String Ed department at Southern Methodist University.

We all dedicate time and effort in the hope that students will keep our shared love of music into adulthood.

While we have an impact on the students we see in the classroom, what are some other ways to go beyond and involve the greater community?

Last month, Jen Drake was in the Dallas area to clinic a Region Orchestra and found some time to talk with Matt about her work with Serenata, the Boise Community Orchestra.

At some point in our careers, we are likely to be presented with opportunities to offer guidance to other professionals. Whether we're working with brand new teachers or seasoned educators, we want to find the right approach in fostering growth through the process.

In this episode, we sit down with Charlotte Moellering to discuss the various roles in being a mentor.

Longevity in our profession is a challenge that often goes unmet due to long hours and immense pressure.

We recently sat down with Mary Havenstrite, a veteran teacher from Plano, TX, to talk about how she has navigated a career that can push many of us to our limits. She shares the joy she finds in daily tasks and talks us through planning meaningful concerts for her students.

There is perhaps no better known name in teaching stringed instruments than Suzuki. For many of us, we remember learning some of his method in college. We also know of the solo literature books, and possibly use them occasionally to supplement our teaching...but the knowledge and understanding often ends there.

We recently sat down with Devan Bell, an orchestra director from Frisco, Texas, to not only talk about the Suzuki method, but also how she integrates many of the fundamental philosophies into teaching middle and high school string orchestra.

As directors, one of the bigger challenges we face each year is retention and recruitment. We dedicate a great deal of time facilitating success for all our students, while at the same time maintaining a sense of culture and belonging that keeps the players coming back each year. We sit down in this episode with Ryan Ross, a high school director who has successfully explored a variety of ways to achieve these goals, including tackling the unique challenge of keeping students in orchestra across multiple campuses.

While we are tasked with performing music at a high level, a truly successful and healthy program needs to feel like a family. There are many ways to create a classroom culture, and today's guest is an expert. Christy LaLonde talks to us about raising an "orchestra student for life" and walks us through the challenges of creating a family setting in a brand new program.

A little background information about our new podcast. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and join us for our first interview in a couple of weeks. Write us at [email protected] if you have any suggestions for future episodes!