The Orchestra Teacher Podcast

Violinist, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundati...

Episode #34. Teaching Fundamentals, Community Orchestras, Student Teachers and more with Jim Van Eizenga of Novi High School, Michigan Jim Van Eizenga is in his 10th year as Director of Orchestras at Novi High School. In addition to his position in Novi, he is the conductor and music director of the Gaylord Community Orchestra, and is the conductor and music director of the Alpena Symphony Orchest...

Ms. Jessie Ahuama-Jonas is in her fifteenth year of teaching Orchestral music and is the current Director of Orchestras at Centennial High School in Roswell Georgia.  A product of the Fulton County School system, Ms. Ahuama-Jonas started taking viola performance seriously in the eighth grade, eventually earning positions with, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Talent Development Program, the A...

Jason Heath is an active performer, writer, blogger and teacher who is known for his podcast Contrabass Conversations , devoted to exploring music and ideas associated with the double bass. His podcast and blog are highly regarded in the music world, and he truly is the voice of the double bass world with hundreds of podcast episodes interviewing some incredible bassists. He is also author of two...

Live from the Midwest Clinic in Chicago!  Anna talks about her upcoming session Hindsight Is 20/20: A Vision To Build a Stronger Beginner String Foundation . Anna Radspinner is an alumnus of the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a Master’s degree in Administration from Wilkes University. She has been a music educator for 19 years with teaching expe...

Rachel Woods is the orchestra director at Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, a 6th-12th grade academic magnet school in Dallas ISD (Dallas, TX). Prior to taking her current position, she taught at Floyd Middle School (Cobb County, GA) and Lake Highlands Jr. High School (Dallas, TX). Originally from Georgia, Rachel attended Kennesaw State University and received a Bachelor of Music i...

Angela is an orchestra teacher for Rockwall ISD in Texas.  She is in her 21st year in teaching this year. Angela has been with Rockwall ISD for 11 years. She previously worked for Dallas ISD as the head director at Woodrow Wilson High School and J.L. Long Middle School for 8 years. She began her teaching career with the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada in the year 2000. Angela has...

The Orchestra Teacher Podcast, Episode 28 (LIVE) with David Eccles, 8/29/2021, 12:00 PM EST  David F. Eccles is a native of Norfolk, Virginia and currently serves as Director of String Music Education and Orchestral Activities at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He has held string education positions in Virginia and Florida. He is an active clinician, adjudicator, conductor,...

A native Texan, Jennifer Wiggin received her Bachelors in Music degree in Viola Performance from Texas Christian University, and her Masters in Music degree in Viola Performance at Indiana University. She went on to obtain her Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Southern California.  For the next dozen years she pivoted into a career in...

About our guest Nassar Edwards is the orchestra director at Langham Creek High School in Houston, TX. He has studied violin under Helen Kim, a Juilliard graduate and Kenn Wagner (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra). Nassar has been a violin clinician at various schools in the Cypress, TX area and in the metro-Atlanta area during his collegiate years. Nassar served as the president of the Collegiate Nation...

Author Sandy Goldie is the director of music education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Before moving to Richmond, Dr. Goldie taught string music education courses at the University of Florida, where she completed her Ph. D. and was awarded the David Wilmot Prize for Excellence in Music Education. She received her master’s degree in music education from the University of...

Orchestra Teacher Podcast, Season 2, Episode 9 Krissi Davis is in her 16 thyear in education as the orchestra director at Grady High School in Atlanta Public Schools, where she is currently the 2020-21 Atlanta Public Schools Teacher of the Year. She previously taught at the middle and high school levels in Clayton and Fayette Counties. While in Clayton County, she directed the Middle School Honor...

Dr. Frank M. Diaz is Associate Professor of Music Education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he teaches courses on instrumental music education and teacher wellness. Diaz is a highly sought out clinician and conductor for honors, community, secondary, and collegiate orchestras, and is a frequent presenter and adjudicator for conferences, workshops, and festivals across the co...

Brad discusses his use of technology in teaching during the pandemic, particularly his use of loops and Soundtrap.com. Brad Pfeil received a Bachelor of Music Education and Performance degree from the University of Michigan and Master of Music Education degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.  He is currently an orchestra director at Neuqua Valley High School, a Grammy Award winning s...

Lisa (Hopko) Loucks is in her twenty-third year as Orchestra Director at Maitland Middle School in the Orange County Public Schools centered in Orlando, Florida. Her orchestras have consistently earned superior ratings in the Florida Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessments, and have performed in Atlanta, Chicago, and New York. Originally from Chicago, Lisa grew up on the west coast of...

A casual conversation with Dr. Soo Han This episode features a very special guest and my dear friend, Dr. Soo Han. Soo agreed to come on the podcast if we could simply have a conversation rather than an interview, so we did! We discuss teaching during the pandemic, the future of music education, and also engage in some personal conversation including plans for Thanksgiving. I hope you and yours wi...

Renee Wang is the Head Orchestra Director at Space Center Intermediate in Clear Creek Independent School District. She is a native of Clear Lake (southeast Houston), Texas. Ms. Wang earned her Master’s degree in Music Education at The Ohio State University, where she studied with Dr. Robert Gillespie, taught undergraduate courses as a Graduate Teaching Associate, worked with the Columbus Symphony...

This is the last of three special episodes where I bring previous guests back on the podcast to check in with them on their current state using a hybrid (simultaneous F2F and remote) teaching.  David shares his current teaching situation, some fresh ideas, and thoughts about his hybrid teaching experiences. #hybridteaching #orchestra 

Hybrid Teaching Updates (Simultaneous F2F and Remote) This is the second of three special episodes where I bring previous guests back on the podcast to check in with them on how their hybrid teaching is going.  Scott shares his philosophy, ideas, and hybrid teaching experiences. Listen to the first episode with Scott Laird from March 20, 2020 #hybridteaching #orchestra

Hybrid Teaching Updates (Simultaneous F2F and Remote) This is the first of three special episodes where I bring previous guests back on the podcast to check in with them on how their hybrid teaching is going.  Shawn shares her philosophy, ideas, and experiences with our listeners. Listen to the first episode with Shawn from August 16 . #hybridteaching #orchestra

My thoughts on preparing to teach in a hybrid format, with a small portion of the population returning Face to Face while a majority of students remain in their remote learning situation. Coming soon will be an episode featuring teachers who will share their experiences with hybrid teaching.  Stay tuned.

In this episode, we interview Ms. Shawn Morton, orchestra director at Duluth High School in the Gwinnett County Schools in Georgia about her experience going back to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  She is slated to introduce students with face to face learning in the next few weeks and discusses her current online teaching and her preparations for face to face. Shawn Morton is beginning her fo...

In this episode, I share my thoughts on pre-planning and provide some preliminary information about our next guest, Ms. Shawn Morton.  The full episode featuring an interview with Shawn Morton of Duluth High School will be coming on Sunday, August 16!

This episode is just a quick update to what is going on and Dr. Laux's thoughts on returning back to school.  More full episodes coming soon! Note: This podcast will start Season 2, Episode #1 of the Orchestra Teacher Podcast.  For resources and ideas for your classroom visit www.orchestrateacher.net

Cory Zilisch is the Director of Orchestras at Westport Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky. He has taught orchestra in the city of Louisville for 5 years. During Cory's tenure at Westport Middle School since 2014, the orchestra program has grown by over 400% in just two years. (From 45 to 180+ members) Mr. Zilisch has been a pioneer in the area of string education. Under his direction, the Westp...