Philosophy of Education
Introduction and Core Values
As a conductor and teacher, my philosophy of education is grounded in two core concepts: growth and service. Whether as a musician, an artist, an educator, or as a human being, a constant desire for personal and professional growth fuels me. This desire is what has gotten me to where I am today, and I push my students to cultivate it within themselves as well. I am not a person who has ever been able to get by on raw talent alone. I understand the value of hard work and improvement over time, and I am a firm believer that consistent incremental growth is a pathway to success in all things. I also believe that conductors and teachers are, at their cores, in positions of service. Everything I do from the conductor’s podium, no matter how much I may feel the music inside me, is utterly silent. Ultimately, I am dependent on the players in front of me to bring their musicianship and artistry to the final product we are striving to create together. I do my best to give them inspiration, to help them shape it, but in the end what I do is facilitate the music-making of the student musicians in the ensemble. This is equally true in the collegiate classroom setting, where I strive to inspire, structure a valuable lesson, and develop students both musically and academically, but ultimately I serve as a facilitator for the learning that they must actively pursue.
On Repertoire
The first and most important aspect of ensemble teaching is the selection of repertoire for performance. I believe that concert programs should meet the following criteria:
- Repertoire should be appropriate to the level of the musicians who will be performing it. By this I mean that the program should challenge them both musically and technically without being overwhelming.
- Repertoire should represent a blend of “cornerstone” works from the wind ensemble canon as well as newer works by contemporary or up-and-coming composers.
- Repertoire should contain a diverse collection of composers representing differing genders, cultural heritages, and socio-economic backgrounds.
- Repertoire should be assembled with artistic intent and consist of pieces that relate to each other in one or more ways.
For a large ensemble, it may be a cliché to state that “the repertoire is the curriculum,” but I believe that it is a fundamental truth. Every musician in the ensemble needs to feel enriched and challenged in some way by the music that they are performing. In addition, they should be getting exposure to the most important works in the history of the medium while also championing new works and young composers. This is especially important for future music educators who may venture forth and expose their students to much of this same music. I believe that music education students in my ensembles should graduate with a clear picture of where wind ensemble music has been and a general idea of where it is going. I am also a firm believer that, in today’s fiercely divided political climate, it is more important than ever to program composers from diverse backgrounds in performance. The music we choose to rehearse and perform has the potential to make our students feel safer amidst the strife of the outside world, or encourage them to grapple with the complex issues that face them and grow in the process. Lastly, the repertoire prepared and performed should be artistically and intentionally assembled into programs in which the pieces relate to one another. This is not to say that every program needs to have an explicitly stated “theme,” but I firmly believe that programs should not just be an assembly of “good” pieces that the ensemble is capable of playing. Even if the first three criteria above are met, we do our students a disservice if we do not think on a deeper artistic level with our programming.
On Rehearsal and the Concert Cycle
The large ensemble rehearsal is, to me, a space in which the individual effort and preparation of each musician is assembled into a collaborative and artful final product. Essential to this process is prior study and practice on the part of all involved, the conductor especially. It is critical that all parties enter the rehearsal with a clear image of the piece in mind, whether that be in terms of structure, form, pacing, emotional content, or just generally “how it goes.” I am a strong advocate for the idea that even a large symphonic band is, in essence, a chamber ensemble with the conductor serving to inspire and coordinate. As the conductor, it is my job to both serve as the spark for the ensemble’s musicianship and to facilitate the coming together of the group. I help them hear how their parts relate to one another and more effectively make music together. In order to make this possible, I do my best to cultivate an atmosphere of kindness, openness, and professionalism in rehearsal. I trust players in the ensemble to do the necessary work individually and bring their best effort each day, and it is up to me to hold them accountable if they do not. I also empower principal players in each section to manage minutia and call sectionals as necessary in order to work through anything that is not progressing as it should. I treat principal players both as trusted section leaders as well as my primary way of “taking the pulse” of the ensemble. I know that they will be honest with me regarding anything I might ask about, and they know that they can come to me with any questions or concerns they might have.
A full concert cycle should follow a general macro-micro-macro or “hour glass” outline. At the start of the cycle, we play through large swaths of music. This allows the ensemble to gain a general feel for each piece and identify areas that are going to require more detailed attention. Once the ensemble is acclimated on a broad level, I find it beneficial to schedule large brass/percussion and woodwind sectionals in order to work on any specific challenges for each group. In order to maximize the efficiency of these rehearsals, principal players are encouraged to meet with their sections individually outside of the large sectional. As we work our way toward the “micro,” I cannot emphasize enough the value of recording the ensemble. This should happen near the midway point as well as at the end of the concert cycle. I find that it allows the students to hear themselves from the other side and make any adjustments they can on their own, and it allows me to listen to the ensemble in a far more detailed way than is possible in a live rehearsal. I am then able to target more specific aspects of the music the next time we are together. I will often send the ensemble detailed notes on these recordings as well. This allows them further insight into what I am hearing and thinking as I listen. Finally, as we near the end of the concert cycle, we open up the scope of the rehearsal again, and work our way towards complete runs of pieces with at least one full concert run prior to the final performance.
On Conducting
I have made conducting my life’s pursuit and main area of expertise primarily because it allows me to be completely connected with the music and with the students I am privileged to teach in a collaborative environment. The process of studying a score allows me to view the music more holistically than I ever experienced as a player within an ensemble. Conveying the music through movement and gesture demands that I absorb the music more deeply within myself. Most of all, though, it is a privilege and a delight to lead an ensemble in making music together. The highly collaborative nature of conducting was something I had not fully considered before I started, but it is has grown to be one of the primary things that drives me in my work.
In the area of conducting instruction, my philosophy is largely rooted in the teachings of my own closest mentors, Dr. Emily Threinen and Dr. Mallory Thompson. This pedagogy consists of a strong foundation in conducting basics and the mechanics of motion, a heavy emphasis on score study, audiation, the development of “aural image,” and most importantly the pursuit of a deep connection to both the music itself and the musicians of the ensemble. My model for classroom conducting instruction is strongly based on Michael Haithcock’s text The Elements of Expressive Conducting as well as my experience with Mallory Thompson’s advanced conducting course at Northwestern University.
On the Preparation of Music Educators and Individual Mentorship
Prior to beginning my graduate studies in conducting, I spent six years teaching band in the public schools of Illinois. Today I have the privilege of preparing aspiring conductors and music educators to enter the field just as I did when I started out. Whether teaching conducting, instrumental techniques, or music education methods courses, I find great fulfillment in guiding these students as they navigate the same challenges I did and preparing them for their own classrooms. In addition to classroom instruction of students, one of the greatest joys I experience as an educator is having the opportunity to individually mentor students along their path. In my own life, I have benefitted more than I can possibly put into writing from the guidance of friends, teachers, and mentors who have come before me. I feel strongly that I would not be where I am today without the many conversations I have had with those people, and the responsibility to do the same for those coming after me is one I take on happily. All that I do revolves around helping the students in front of me realize the best possible version of themselves. The course of my life and career has brought me to a wonderful place where I am in a position to help my students in the same way that my mentors and colleagues have helped me throughout the years. Whether that help comes in the form of musical instruction from the podium, academic instruction from the front of the classroom, or one-on-one mentoring, I have dedicated my life to the service of my students and fostering their growth as well as my own.