Everything Band Podcast

Jeff Herwig is a composer and the the Director of Bands at Mercer Area Middle-Senior High School in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Topics: Jeff's background growing up including the story of his late start as a saxophone player and how he was inspired by the rock band Queen. The program at Mercer Area High School and the mistakes that Jeff made at his first position and the lessons he learned when he took...

Keith Ozsvath is the band director at Rotolo Middle School in Batavia, Illinois and is the co-founder and coordinator for the Middle School Concert Band Camp at the Music for All Summer Symposium. Topics: Keith's background including the story of how childhood organ lessons helped prepare him for a late start in band. The band program at Rotolo Middle School. Keith's duties as Middle School Coordi...

Jonathan Newman is a well-known composer and is the Director of Composition & Coordinator of New Music at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. Topics: Jonathan's background, how playing the trombone has helped his career, and important teachers in his life. How writing in a variety of genres helps him stay focused and the importance of exploring a plurality of styles as a composer....

Cynthia Wagoner taught middle school and high school band for 27 years in Indiana before going back to school and becoming a music education professor at East Carolina University. Topics: Cynthia's background growing up in Terra Haute, Indiana in a musical family and the story of how she became and oboe player involved in both orchestra and band. The importance of mentors and some of the important...

Danny Mesa is an Army musician, conductor, and drum major for the 25th Infantry Division Band in Hawai'i. Topics: Danny's background growing up in Miami and some early teachers that helped him get his start and the lessons that they taught him. His first teaching job out of college and the decision to join the Army after just two years as a teacher. Danny's role at the Army Music School and the na...

William Owens is a composer and music educator with over 200 works for band and 30 years of teaching experience. Topics: Willie's background growing up in Gary, Indiana and the high school band teacher who changed his life. The story of how Willie ended up moving from Chicago to Brownsville, Texas and how that ended up shaping his entire career. How Willie got his start as a composer through arran...

Corey Pompey is the director of athletic bands and associate director of bands at the University of Wisconsin. Topics: Corey's background and how he started with violin, switched to cello, then trumpet, and then finally the saxophone. Corey's experiences as an undergraduate at the University of Alabama and as a member and drum major of the "Million Dollar Band." Corey's K-12 teaching experience an...

Michael Hudson is Associate Professor of Music Education and serves as chair of the music education and music therapy division at the University of Kentucky. Topics: Michael's background growing up in Florida and the influence of his middle school band director. The importance of music ensembles as a social place and community for adolescents. Coming back to music education after earning and under...

Darcy Vogt Williams is the head band director at Stiles Middle School in Leander, Texas. She is also a host of the After Sectionals podcast and the author or co-author of three books on education: Count Me In, Teaching Rhythm Logically and Pacing for Success: Beginner Band . Topics: Darcy's superhero origin story as the daughter of two musicians who went to college to be an architect before discov...

Heather Hoefle is a composer and longtime band director in the Chicagoland area. After years of arranging and rewriting music for her students, she recently began writing her own music, and has had terrific success with pieces published by RWS Music and Kjos Music. Topics: Heather's teaching job in the suburbs of Chicago, her musical background growing up in the Indianapolis area, and the story of...

Renee Todd is the band director at Ligon GT Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2019-20 the Ligon Wind Ensemble was selected to perform in the Music For All National Concert Festival and the Jazz Ensemble at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Topics: Renee's background as a trumpet player and her studies at the University of Maryland. Renee's first couple of teach...

Matthew Arau is the Chair of the Music Education Department and Associate Director of Bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. He also teaches conducting at the American Band College and student leadership at numerous clinics and academies.  Topics: How a tennis racket, some empty Baskin Robbins tubs, and a 6th grade Dixieland group launched a musical career....

Patrick Dunnigan is the Director of Bands at Florida State University where he directs several concert bands and the Marching Chiefs. He also teaches courses in conducting, literature, and music education. Topics: The story of how Patrick got his start and how a guitar as a kid helped him develop some of the hearing and writing skills that have helped him throughout his career as a music educator....

Joseph Kreines is a legendary conductor in Florida and co-author of  Music for Concert Band.   Topics: Joseph's background in music and how a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert featuring Artur Rubinstein inspired his career as a musician. How he came to Florida as the Assistant Conductor of the Florida Orchestra and his first steps as a conductor and clinician for young bands and orchestras in the...

Wendy Higdon is the award winning Director of Bands at Creekside Middle School in Carmel, Indiana. Under her baton the Wind Symphony at Creekside has performed at numerous venues, including the Midwest Clinic. Wendy is also the creator and owner of the music education website "On and Off the Podium." Topics: Wendy's background as a musician and her influences as a teacher. Some of the structures a...

Thomas Fraschillo was the longtime director of bands at the University of Southern Mississippi and is a past president of the American Bandmasters Association. Topics: Tom's background growing in a small town in Northern Mississippi and the story of how he got a late start as a young musician. Some of the people who influenced his career and the wisdom he learned from those educators. The band pro...

Thomas Leslie has been the Director of Bands at the University of Nevada Las Vegas since 1985. He has enjoyed tremendous success as a band director at each stop of his career and is a past president of the American Bandmasters Association. Topics: Tom's background growing up in Iowa and the story of his high school music teacher Charles Kreeb through his musical education at the University of Iowa...

Olin Hannum is the Director of Athletic Bands at Oregon State University and one of the hosts of the AMusEd: A Music Educator's Podcast . He joins the show to talk about the program at Oregon State and share his thoughts about developing student leaders. Topics: Olin's background growing up in Northern California as a horn player. What his job at Oregon State looks like and the challenges he faces...

Alex Kaminsky is the newly appointed Director of Bands at VanderCook College of Music. He has had tremendous success at every stop of his teaching career, including most recently at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Topics: Alex's early experiences in music including Melvin Baker, his exceptional high school band director and the lessons that he learned from him. Alex's early career and some o...

Chip De Stefano is an arranger, composer, and the longtime band director at McCracken Middle School in Skokie, Illinois. Under his direction, the bands at McCracken have won numerous awards and have twice been invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic. Topics: Chip's background and important early experiences in music. The decision to become a music teacher and the support that he receives from his...

Dale Trumbore is a successful composer and the author of the recently released book Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life . She joins the show to talk about her career, her music, and to talk about issues related to anxiety for musicians. Topics: Dale's background and her journey to becoming a full time composer, including some lessons learned from an influenti...

Lori Schwartz Reichl has parlayed her experience as a successful band director in Pennsylvania and Maryland into a remarkable portfolio career that includes being an author, clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and speaker. Topics: Lori's background growing up in an extremely musical family and the experience of having her father as her high school band director. Thoughts about how to build your com...

Arris Golden is the assistant director of bands and associate director of the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University. Topics: Arris' background and thoughts about having the same band director for 6 years. How during her 18 years teaching middle school, Arris was able to bring meaningful experiences to her students through commissions and collaborations. Building a network of colleague...

John Denis is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Texas State University. He has 8 years of teaching experience as a high school and middle school band director in Texas and is the host of the Program Notes: The Beginning Band Director Podcast . Topics: John's background growing up West of Fort Worth and thoughts about why he became a teacher. Some advice for young teachers who might be d...

Colonel Arnald Gabriel is among the most distinguished members of our profession, having been the commander and conductor of the United States Air Force band from 1964-1985.  Topics: Colonel Gabriel's early musical experiences and the story of Burton Stanley, the high school band director who pushed him to college after his return from serving in the Second World War. The story of re-joining the s...