Well, hello there! Just wanted to introduce myself! So I'm Cal, or MusiCal here (see what I did there?), and it's nice to be here! I was actually dragged/told to show up by another member here, although I'm not entirely sure what his username is? I'm sure he'll pop up and run his mouth eventually. Anyways! I'm a university music teacher! I'm a trumpet player by trade, but teach brass studies, composing, conducting, and much to my dislike am currently teaching a music theory course (kill me?). I work with the marching band, as well as smaller student ensembles such as the brass choir. Just about every brass player that comes through the Uni will, at some point in their education, have to deal with me as their professor. That might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. I absolutely love what I do! Music is something I'm extremely passionate about, and have been learning and teaching and involved in music since I was six years old. I've always known that I wanted to do something in music, and ended up discovering a love for conducting and teaching in high school. I was a band conductor in the Navy, so that was very interesting. And now at the University level, I get to teach, mentor, and play music every single day, so it's amazing. One of my favorite things, I do work with the brass line with the marching band (absolutely amazing) but I work with the brass choir as well. Probably one of my favorite parts of my job simply because it's student-led so I have the ability to pick up my trumpet and play with the ensemble rather than just acting in a teaching role. It's a nice balance of teaching and playing. Uh let's see... I don't know what you'd want to know about me so feel free to ask and I'll try to answer!
Heh twas I! Hey Cal. I threatened to make his kid repeat the 7th grade. But no seriously, we’ve been friends ever since we figured out his kid goes to my middle school, and my teenager participates in his university’s community orchestra program.
Welcome and I hope your friend pops up here for you. Are we allowed to ask you anything? haha Joking! I won't fire away with the questions for now!
Uh, sure, yeah? I guess so, go for it. But if it's about music theory, you might not like the homework assignment. "Busy" isn't even the half of it my friend! We like to say that the University works 3 months ahead, so while it's October now, we're already working on next semester things. For the School of Music, that means prepping for Jan/Feb auditions! They're always exceptionally fun but they are a lot of work to prep for and coordinate. Right now, it's mainly just arranging the music and prepping our side of the audition. Usually we arrange our required, sight reading piece then we'll get a few students to play it. We like to take their feedback and tweak the piece a bit if it needs it. It's a sight reading piece, it's meant to be challenging, and meant to test their limits, but we don't want it so complicated everyone just completely bombs it.
Welcome! I'm so glad you found a way to make being a music teacher pay. I'm one of those other ones who went multiple subject and music so that I could teach. In my area, we just don't have music teachers in public schools. So instead, I'm a classroom teacher who does music in my own class and volunteers to direct choir after school so that the kids have access to some music at school.
Hi! Happy to meet you virtually . I am a newbie also and am looking forward to meeting new teachers both active and retired. !
Welcome. I am a former band director and have also taught general music, music appreciation, and theatre arts. Everything from preschool through high school. I am semi retired now.
Welcome! It'll be nice to have a few more music people around. There's a few more other than me, but we all kind of come and go, so there's no guarantee of help with questions. Right now I'm starting a music program at a multi-lingual K-8 school. It's a fun challenge, but it's definitely a challenge to start from square one with no materials/resources, plus being push-in instead of my own classroom. No beginning band this year because of covid, but I'm starting a choir once admin can find me a space to hold practice in. MusiCal, you hate teaching theory? I'd love it!
That's really great, I love that! You know at my level, at the University level, we have high caliber musicians. It's nothing for our musicians to come into band practice "Guys! I auditioned with the Boston Pops today!" We hear it every single year. And some of that, we help facilitate, right? We've got professors on our staff that currently or have play(ed) with the BSO, Boston Pops, The London Symphony Orchestra. So our caliber of educators can help propel those students into those auditions. I have a trumpet player right now I'm helping him prepare for an audition with the US Navy so that *hopefully* in the spring time when he graduates, he can accept a role with the US Navy as a musician. But all of that starts in classrooms. With the recorder, with the keyboards learning those basics. I firmly, 100% believe in my soul, my heart, my entire being that in order to have the caliber of musicians that we have and that next step up, it has to start in the classrooms. The middle school kids who are struggling holding the big and bad brass instruments. I love that so much. "Former" band director? There's so such thing! Once a director, always a director! With this being Alumni Week at the Uni, we've got so many band alumni coming back to the University. And it's so amazing! They bring a different energy to the University, to the band, even to us as staff. Our drum major for the alumni band this year is a guy named Mike. Me being a trumpet player, I have to speak respect on Mike. Because Mike is the man. He's a trumpet player as well, so from my perspective, I've been enjoying spending time with him and learning some tricks from him. Mike is 77 years old. He's still an active musician and plays with a community orchestra up in Maine. He taught in music education for fifty years and let me tell you from personal experience. At 77 years old, over sixty years of musicianship, Mike can still throw down. I actually do hate teaching theory! I thought I'd like it too, which is sort of how I got roped into teaching it. But I have found that after years of teaching it, it has lost its luster.
