Latest Band directors Podcast Episodes

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This School Finds The Right Balance Between Jazz Band And Marching Band

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - December 22, 2022 01:00 - 27 minutes
This week, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Wes Lowe, Director of Instrumental Arts at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. Wes grew up as a student at the school, and joined the faculty in 2019. Wes was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educato...

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Doubling The Size Of The Band Program During A Pandemic

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - December 13, 2022 03:00 - 27 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Wes Lowe, Director of Instrumental Arts at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. Wes was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators, and in this episode, he talks about what it's like to direct ensembles at the elementary,...

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Welcoming Musicians With Physical Exceptionalities To The Marching Band

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - November 08, 2022 14:00 - 36 minutes
This week, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Cody Newman, Director of Bands at Forney High School in Forney, TX, a town located around 20 miles east of Dallas. Cody was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators.  In this episode we'll learn about two tale...

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Encouragement, Selflessness And Positivity Are Keys To This Band Program's Success

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - November 02, 2022 02:00 - 39 minutes
This week, Nick Averwater talks with Cody Newman, Director of Bands at Forney High School in Forney, TX, a town of around 15,000 located 20 miles east of Dallas. Cody was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators. In this episode he'll tell us about his early days as ...

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Providing After School Opportunities For Musicians At All Skill Levels

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - October 25, 2022 04:00 - 23 minutes
This week, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Anastasia Homes, Director of Bands at San Elijo Middle School in San Marcos, CA, a city of 95,000 people 30 miles north of San Diego. Anastasia was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators.  In this episode we...

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Creating A Successful Mentorship Program In Middle School Band

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - October 18, 2022 04:00 - 28 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Anastasia Homes, Director of Bands at San Elijo Middle School in San Marcos, CA. Anastasia was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators. In this episode we'll learn more about the people and ideas that inspired her to be a music ed...

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Ideas to Inspire High School Students To Pursue A Career In Music Education

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - October 04, 2022 03:00 - 22 minutes
This week, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Mikaela Littleton, Director of Bands at Mill Creek Middle School in Nolensville, TN. It's part of the Williamson County School System, which is just south of Nashville.  Mikaela is in her fourth year as a music educator, and in this conve...

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Great Mentors Are Essential To A Band Director's Early Success

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - September 27, 2022 03:00 - 30 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Mikaela Littleton, Director of Bands at Mill Creek Middle School in Nolensville, TN. It's part of the Williamson County School System, which is just south of Nashville.  This week we'll learn more about Mikaela's early influences that encouraged her to ...

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Tips For Retaining Most (Or Even All) Of Your Band Students

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - September 19, 2022 03:00 - 27 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Benjamin Easley, Director of Bands at Nolensville High School in Nolensville, TN. We'll learn more about Benjamin's approach to maintaining high retention rates in the band program at Nolensville, how his approach to teaching has ch...

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Directing A Successful Non-Competitive Marching Band in Middle Tennessee

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - September 13, 2022 03:00 - 37 minutes
In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Benjamin Easley, Director of Bands at Nolensville High School in Nolensville, TN, a town of around 16,000 located a half hour south of Nashville.  Benjamin comes from a family of music educators (his father, John Ea...

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How Covid Has Affected The Way Students Learn, And How Educators Teach

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - September 04, 2022 03:00 - 54 minutes
In this episode we'll be listening to a webinar hosted by Amro Music on August 6, 2022 looking at how Covid has affected the way students learn, and how educators teach. We were joined by Brittany Jerrell from Stewarts Creek Middle School in Smyrna, Tennessee, Kim Webb from Greene County Tech H...

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A Conversation with Grammy Music Educator Award Recipient Mickey Smith Jr.

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - August 28, 2022 03:00 - 44 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Mickey Smith Jr., the 2020 recipient of the Grammy Music Educator Award. He is originally from Mossville, LA, a small town in the southwest corner of the state, and currently teaches at The Greene School in West Palm Beach, FL. He also travels extensiv...

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Amro Music's 2022 Young Directors Bootcamp, Part 2

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - August 20, 2022 03:00 - 44 minutes
In this episode we'll listen to the second half of a panel discussion from Amro Music's Young Directors Bootcamp, which is a chance for band directors who are just starting out to hear from educators who are a few years into their careers. The discussion features Reece Gardner from Arlington Mi...

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Amro Music's 2022 Young Director's Bootcamp, Part 1

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - August 13, 2022 03:00 - 36 minutes
In this episode we'll listen to the first half of a panel discussion from Amro Music's Young Director's Bootcamp, which is a chance for band directors who are just starting out to hear from educators who are a few years into their careers. The participants include: Reese Gardner from Arlington ...

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Amro Music's 2022 Young Directors Bootcamp, Part 1

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - August 13, 2022 03:00 - 36 minutes
In this episode we'll listen to the first half of a panel discussion from Amro Music's Young Director's Bootcamp, which is a chance for band directors who are just starting out to hear from educators who are a few years into their careers. The participants include: Reese Gardner from Arlington ...

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How One Music Educator's Videos Have Been Seen More Than 3.5 Million Times

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - August 02, 2022 02:00 - 49 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Tyler Swick, a celebrated and award-winning music educator from Robert and Sandy Ellis Elementary School in Las Vegas, whose YouTube channel, Swick's Classroom, has over 14,000 subscribers, and has been visited more than 3.5 million times. We thought ...

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Successfully Supporting and Engaging Students With Exceptionalities in Band and Orchestra

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - July 26, 2022 02:00 - 47 minutes
In this episode Nick Averwater talks with Emily Kelley, Director of Bands at Sylvania Southview High School in Sylvania, OH, and author of the new book Inclusion in Band and Orchestra, which is part of the Maximizing Student Performance series by the Kjos Music Company. Our conversation was reco...

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Starting The Year On Your Left Foot

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - July 17, 2022 04:00 - 26 minutes
This week Joel Hurd, one of the producers on the podcast, talks with composer and educator Brady Massey, who spent more than 20 years as a band director in three different school districts in Arkansas (Hoxie, Trumann, and Pocahontas), and is currently Director of Bands at Williams Baptist Univer...

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Sound Reinforcement for Marching Bands: What To Use, and How To Use It

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - July 04, 2022 01:00 - 51 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Hunter Durham, Director of Bands in the Rivercrest School District in Wilson, Arkansas, a small town near the Mississippi River around 30 miles north of Memphis. He is originally from nearby Paragould, Arkansas. Hunter has written a guide to sound reinforceme...

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Increasing Retention In Your Music Program

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - June 11, 2022 02:00 - 33 minutes
This week Joel Hurd, one of co-producers of the podcast, talks with Dr. Jennifer Hawkinson, Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Central Arkansas. Before joining UCA, Dr. Hawkinson spent 18 years in South Dakota as a music educator in several school districts, including o...

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Strong Community Support Results In Decades of Success For A Small Town's Band Program

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - May 17, 2022 02:00 - 28 minutes
In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Jason Deem, Director of Bands at Union City High School in Union City, Tennessee, a town of just over 10,000 people in the northwest corner of the state.  Jason joined the Union City schools in 2006, and has been D...

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Practical Ideas For Recruiting New Students For Your Band Program

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - May 09, 2022 04:00 - 37 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Randy Dale, Assistant Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Mississippi, to get some ideas about recruiting new students for your band program. Our conversation was recorded April 8, 2022 in downto...

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More Ideas To Help Students Who Want To Make Music Education Their Career

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - May 02, 2022 03:00 - 26 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater continues his with Dr. Matt Rowan, Director of Bands for the Pearl School District in Pearl, Mississippi, the 13th largest city in the state, located just east of Jackson.  In this conversation, Dr. Rowan shares more ideas about how to help students who want to p...

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Advising And Encouraging Students Who Want To Pursue A Career In Music Education

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - April 24, 2022 02:00 - 25 minutes
In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Matt Rowan, Director of Bands for the Pearl School District in Pearl, Mississippi, a city of around 27,000 just east of Jackson.  In this conversation, Dr. Rowan talks about how he knew early that he wanted to pursue a career in music education, in...

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Developing a Positive Relationship With Your Local School Board

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - April 17, 2022 02:00 - 22 minutes
This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Todd Shipley, Director of Arts Education for the Tennessee Department of Education.  In this episode, they'll discuss the importance developing a positive relationship with your local school board, proactive  vs. reactive advocacy, and mo...

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Advocating For Arts Education In A State of Nearly 7 Million People

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - April 10, 2022 01:00 - 33 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Todd Shipley, Director of Arts Education for the Tennessee Department of Education. Todd had eight years of experience as a school band director before moving into his current role with the state in 2018.  In this episode, we'll learn more about what it means...

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Language Barriers Are No Match For The Joy Of Teaching And Learning Music

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - April 03, 2022 02:00 - 40 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Angela Ammerman, author of the new book, The Music Teacher's Guide to Engaging English Language Learners, which is published by G-I-A Publications.  Since 2006, Dr. Ammerman has been a music educator for students of all ages...from Kindergarten to the Uni...

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Student Leadership And Clear Expectations Are Keys To A Band Program's Success

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - March 26, 2022 03:00 - 27 minutes
In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Justin Harvison, Director of Bands at Germantown High School in Madison, Mississippi. Justin began his career in 2008 at Madison Central High School, where he was lead director of the 9th grade band at Rosa Scott 9t...

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Keeping Students Interested In Music Throughout All Of Their School Years, And Beyond

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - March 12, 2022 03:00 - 22 minutes
This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Alexis Yatuzis-Derryberry, General Music Teacher at Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna, Tennessee. Before moving to Stewarts Creek in 2021, Alexis spent nearly 20 years teaching general music and choir at the elementary and middle schoo...

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Why General Music Education Is So Important For Students Of All Ages

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators - March 05, 2022 03:00 - 28 minutes
This week Nick Averwater talks with Alexis Yatuzis-Derryberry, General Music Teacher at Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna, Tennessee. Before moving to Stewarts Creek in 2021, Alexis spent nearly 20 years teaching general music and choir at the elementary and middle school levels. She is also ...

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