Episode 212 - Farewell!
Everything Band Podcast
It's been quite a run, but all good things must come to an end. A special thank you to all of my listeners, all of my guests, and to my sponsors Celtic Horizons and Kaleidoscope Adventures. All of your support and belief in this show kept me going for so many episodes. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jake Walker, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the final 50 or so episodes to create the website, change the branding, and create the amazing images we see for the final run of the show. He's been invaluable to me and I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without him. Ditto Colin...
info_outline
Episode 211 - Benjamin Taylor
Everything Band Podcast
Benjamin Dean Taylor (born 1983), has been described as “elegant and energetic” () and “powerful and direct with delightful surprises in each work.” () Having grown up as a performer in jazz, rock, ska, country, and concert bands as well as in choirs and orchestras, Taylor is driven to write music that highlights the strengths of each performing ensemble. His catalog of more than 100 works covers a large range of styles and genres including music written for orchestra, wind band, opera, choir, jazz big band, gamelan, chamber ensembles, and soloists with live electronics. Further,...
info_outline
Episode 210 - Don Stinson
Everything Band Podcast
Don Stinson is a comprehensive music educator with a robust background spanning roles as an author, speaker, and clinician. He holds educational degrees from an array of prestigious institutions including Joliet Junior College, VanderCook College of Music, and Northern Illinois University. Adding to his educational background, Don also holds a Master’s in Education Administration from the University of St. Francis, bringing unparalleled expertise to his educational endeavors. Currently, Don is the director of bands at Joliet Central High School in Joliet, Illinois, distinguishing...
info_outline
Episode 209 - Evan VanDoren
Everything Band Podcast
DISCLAIMER Episodes 209-2011 were recorded in 2023 and have only recently been uploaded to the internet. There are some things that have changed since their recordings, so be aware that you are not listening to the most current events. Evan VanDoren is a freelance arranger, composer, and educational consultant. As the owner of VanDoren Music, Evan is commissioned each year to create works for concert and marching ensembles. He has arranged and orchestrated award-winning marching shows for numerous high school bands across the country. Evan is an active clinician, presenting for Drum Corps...
info_outline
Episode 208 - Adrian Gordon
Everything Band Podcast
Adrian Gordon is an internationally performed composer and seasoned music educator and currently serves as the director of orchestras at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. In addition to teaching, Adrian is the founder of Leap Year Music Publishing, which publishes string music for elementary, middle, and high school ensembles. His compositions appear on the Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Georgia Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessment Lists. His compositions are distributed through J.W. Pepper and have been performed throughout the world. Learn more at .
info_outline
Episode 207 - Sixto Montesinos
Everything Band Podcast
Dr. Sixto F. Montesinos Jr. is assistant professor of music and head of instrumental studies at Saint Mary’s College of California in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is an active Mexican-American conductor, flutist, music educator, and scholar researching new and effective ways to strengthen Mexican-American relations through the study and performance of music. These include overcoming stereotypes as well as Mexican, LGBTQ+, and LatinX representation in the field of music education, repertoire, and performance He is the artistic director of the Saint Mary's College Jazz Band as well as its...
info_outline
Episode 206 - Vu Nguyen
Everything Band Podcast
Vu Nguyen is the Director of Wind Ensembles and Conducting at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA. Prior to his appointment at the University of Connecticut, he served as the Director of Bands at the University of Indianapolis, was a conductor of the Wind Ensemble at Washington University in St. Louis, and was a visiting conductor of the Indiana University Concert Band. He began his career teaching in the public schools of San Ramon, CA. Dr. Nguyen has conducted throughout the western United States and in Japan. He maintains an active schedule as a clinician and has served as guest...
info_outline
Episode 205 - John Wojciechowski
Everything Band Podcast
Saxophonist John Wojciechowski is originally from Detroit and has spent the last 18 years performing and teaching in Chicago. In addition to leading his own groups, he has performed or recorded with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Clark Terry, Charlie Haden, and Kurt Elling among many others. John was also a third place finalist in the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. John has appeared on dozens of recordings as a sideman, and has two recordings as a...
info_outline
Episode 204 - Josh Johnson (w/ host Jake Walker)
Everything Band Podcast
Joshua Johnson currently serves as the Associate Director of Bands at Traughber Junior High in Oswego, Illinois. Prior to coming to Oswego, Josh served as Director of Bands at North Kirkwood Middle School and Associate Director of Bands in Kirkwood, Missouri. Joshua attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree with Honors. During his time at Illinois, he was a member of the Illinois Wind Symphony, the Marching Illini, the University of Illinois Black Chorus, and many other university ensembles. Josh studied Oboe with Professor...
info_outline
Episode 203 - Karen Fannin
Everything Band Podcast
Karen Fannin is Professor, Director of Bands, and Interim Director of the School of Music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, instructs courses in music education, and provides leadership for all aspects of the UNO band program. Previously, Dr. Fannin served as Director of Bands and Department Chair at Hendrix College. While in Arkansas, Dr. Fannin also held the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Little Rock Wind Symphony. A native of Iowa, Dr. Fannin began her teaching career...
info_outlineJared Cassedy is the current band director at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, after teaching in New Hampshire for many years. He was the 2015 recipient of the Grammy Music Educator of the Year award and offers some great perspective for all band directors.
Topics:
- Jared's background growing up in New Hampshire, his education and training and his early career.
- Winning the Grammy Music Educator of the Year Award and being locked in a room with Kanye and Kim.
- Advice for band directors of all ages about the value of music education and some wisdom that he's learned during his career.
Links:
Biography:
Jared Cassedy is currently the K-12 Performing Arts Coordinator for the Lexington Public School System in Lexington, Massachusetts where he supports, supervises, and evaluates the department’s teachers, curriculum and assessment development, budget, and performing arts programming. Along with his administrative responsibilities he conducts the most advanced concert band at the high school, the LHS Wind Ensemble. Jared is also the conductor of the Junior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and currently serves as Chair-Elect for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association: Northeastern District. Previous to coming to Massachusetts, he served as President-Elect for the New Hampshire Music Educators Association (NHMEA). In 2015 Jared was the recipient of the prestigious GRAMMY Music Educator Award furnished by the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy having been selected out of a pool of almost 10,000 nominees nationwide.
Previous to his appointment in Lexington, Jared was the Director of K-12 Performing Arts for the Salem School District in Salem, NH and was the Director of K-12 Fine Arts for the Windham School District, in Windham, NH. Jared began his teaching career in Windham, NH in 2005 first as the middle school band director and then was appointed as the first Director of Bands for the newly constructed Windham High School in 2009. Jared’s continued collaboration with his students has enabled his ensembles to be selected to participate in a myriad of national performances and festivals including the National Band and Orchestra Festival at Carnegie Hall in NYC, the Festival of Gold at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, the NAfME Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, CT., and the Bands of America National Band Festival sponsored by Music for All and Yamaha in Indianapolis. His ensembles were also selected to perform for the Mayor of Quebec City and the Governor of Montreal. In 2011 the New Hampshire Band Directors Association honored Jared with the “Outstanding Young Band Director of the Year Award.” He was also nominated for New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 2014.
Jared has conducted a number of regional honor bands in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, given a variety of lectures on leadership and best practices in teaching, and has participated in TEDx talking about his journey and philosophies through education. He graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire – Durham where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and has a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Educational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of NAfME, MMEA, NBA, and ASCD, and the prestigious Pi Lambda Theta Education Honors Society.