Beyond the Podium

Episode 6- Elizabeth and Jim Fritz-Partners in Music and Life

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone! This week we’re going to hear about two people who love music and love each other. The world of teaching music in a busy one, and often, the people we are closest with- such as friends, sometimes family, best friend colleagues, and mentors, are right there in that world with us. Sometimes, the person you marry also lives in that world of music with you… and in your house!. I had the absolute pleasure to talk with Elizabeth and Jim Fritz from Iowa. Elizabeth and Jim met in college and got married in May right after Liz graduated. By that fall we both had teaching jobs in the same school/same building/same room. We taught together there for 31 years. We’re both Past-Presidents of the Iowa Bandmasters Association (the first couple to ever do such). Jim was also President of the Iowa High School Association. Liz is the Co-Administrator of the Iowa Model of Excellence Mentor program and is the current IBA Webmaster. Jim is the state coordinator for the IBA Mentorship Program and an adjunct professor at Luther College. I was fascinated by their life to live almost every minute together and to be so successful as people and as teachers. I asked them some pretty hard questions about job envy, competition between themselves, supporting each other’s success, the lifestyle and sacrifices of both being involved in such a demanding career.

Episode 5- Dr. Philip Edelman- Lifelong Learning

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Welcome to episode 5! We’re coming up on spring which means the end of the school year is rapidly approaching. I wanted to get some perspective on the lifelong learning aspect of teaching our student. Many or most of our band, orchestra and choir students will not go on to be music educators. However, it should always be our goal for each student to have a love of music and to continue to learn on after they graduate from the public school program. I spoke with Dr. Philip Edelman, an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Maine and was the conductor of the Roeland Park New Horizons Band – an ensemble dedicated to collaborative music making among adults over the age of 50. Dr. Edelman had quite a lot of knowledge on how to motivate our students in the school and when they leave our classroom.

Episode 4- John- The First Year of Teaching

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 05:00:00 +0000

welcome to episode 4! For this episode, I decided to speak with a first year teacher, John who teaches in Pennsylvania. John teaches high school band, jazz band, jazz improv, music theory and music appreciation. John, did not complete his undergraduate degree in Pennsylvania, has been caught off guard by many aspects of the first year of teaching. Here’s what we had to talk about:

Episode 3- Scott Rush- The Associate Director

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome to episode 3! I had the amazing opportunity to speak with a giant name in music education, Scott Rush. This episode runs slightly longer due to the depth of information Scott was able to offer in our conversation. Scott is the Director of Fine and Performing Arts in Dorchester School District Two in South Carolina and is the former Director of Bands at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, SC.He currently serves as conductor of the Charleston Wind Symphony, a semi-professional ensemble in Charleston, South Carolina. He is lead writer for the Habits series and has authored or co-authored ten highly touted books: Habits of A Successful Band Director, Habits of A Successful Musician, Quality of Life Habits of A Successful Band Director, and many others for GIA Publications. Scott and I talked about the role of the Associate Director, or as I previously referred to it as the Assistant Director. This entire conversation is what to do if you are the #2 in charge or how to relate to your second in command!

Episode 2- Andy Carter- The Nonstudents

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 05:00:00 +0000

For episode number two, I had the chance to speak with Andy Carter, Director of Bands at Orange High School in Hillsborough, NC. Mr. Carter was appointed Director of Bands at Orange High School in April of 2004 and is an alumni of Orange High School. Mr. Carter is Past-President of the Central District of the North Carolina Bandmasters Association. In November of 2006, Carter was elected as State Jazz Education Chair and served on the board for NCMEA for two years. In the spring of 2009 Carter was honored as he was selected as the Central District Bandmasters "Band Director of the Year." He has a lot of insight and ideas about working and dealing with the people in our lives who aren’t our students.

Episode 1- Professor Arris Golden- The Systems

Rebecca Titus — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 05:00:00 +0000

This is our pilot episode which is so exciting! I had the opportunity to sit down and Skype with Professor Arris Golden at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Music Director of the 265-member Marching Tar Heels, Director of the Women’s Basketball Pep Band, conductor of the Symphony Band, guest conductor with the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in Music Education. In our chat, we talked about the systems and logistics of a program.