Bandwidth: Recent Episodes
Jason Chin
Bandwidth is a podcast about band directors and their unique challenges and solutions to burnout. Join us to hear about people's journeys and how they manage their lives while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the field of education.
Bill Wynn is the Director of Bands at Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia. He is at the helm of a model program in a rural community which may seem like an atypical situation, but he's created a powerhouse, and still manages to compartmentalize his life to be excellent in his career and also be present at home and enjoy life. Thank you as well to his wife Jill for joining us for this interview.
This is a illuminating and refreshing conversation with a younger cross section of the band director/former band director world. Already a little hardened and jaded, how do we envision the future of music education and our role in it?
Genice is the Director of Bands at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, CO. She leads a powerhouse program and has made a mark everywhere she's been, developing great programs. I get to chat a bit with her about the boys club and how she broke through the glass ceiling that far too many women encounter in the profession.
This is the tail end of my interview with Dr. Mayne. I made a bit of a mistake in editing and thought I had a lot more recorded audio than I actually did, so this is going to be a short one. Please enjoy the tail end of this interview.
This episode features Dr. Richard Mayne, retired band director from the University of Northern Colorado. A true master teacher and first class human, he continues to influence music education in the state. Nick, Britt, and I road tripped down to Sedona, AZ to visit he and his wife, Cindy, to find out the keys to not just his successful career, but also his family life. This was a long interview, so I've split it into two parts. This is part one.
I've long admired Jonathan Grantham, director of bands at Amador Valley High School. Not only are his bands simply amazing, but the culture in that program is something that has been intentionally and meticulously crafted. He truly is one of the master teachers of our time. Check out his blog at https://accidentalexpertise.wordpress.com/ for some truly great insights.
Nick is back, this time in a round table with Johnny and Sara Wynes, formerly of Campus Middle School and Cherry Creek High School, and now at Punahou School. We introduce a new discussion segment, called "Are You Buying or Selling", talking about like-instrument grouping and a band director version of Physical 100.
Tim Libby is one of the most highly respected band directors in the State of Colorado. His program at Cherry Creek High School has been a model program for a long time. That school comes with a lot of beneficial things that seem built in, but it also comes with different kinds of expectations than your typical high school. Tim shares a lot of the wisdom that he's gathered over the years about how his program runs, why he does what he does, and how he makes the most of the people around him.
Keith Farmer is the Director of Bands at Grandview High School in Aurora, CO. Slight correction to my intro, but he is not the first director at that school, but has spent the majority of his career there, and continues to be active in the band community. He has continued to evolve his program, his teaching, and has taken healthy steps towards maintaining a balance between work and his personal life without detrimental effects on his program. If there's proof that it can be done, Keith is doing it.
Danny Schmidt is the retired Director of Bands at Northern Arizona University, and Mark Falzarano is a former colleague of mine in Hawaiʻi, having taught at Punahou School, and is now teaching in Germany at the International School of Frankfurt Rein-Main. We discuss the band industrial complex, the concept of Maximum Viable Product, and the possibility of pressing the reset button when it comes to band programs.
I get to chat with Dylan Ford, Director of Bands and Orchestras at Dakota Ridge HS in Littleton, Colorado. We discuss the toll of mental exhaustion, inequities in compensation, and teacher retention.
Nick was at the helm of a Colorado 5A State Championship marching band program at Loveland High School, and despite much success, found himself needing to leave the classroom. He didn't leave band completely behind him. We talk in depth, during a road trip from Colorado to Arizona, with an unexpected stop along the way.
Britt Sawyer has spent her entire career teaching in what is a hybrid community of suburbia and rural Colorado. She has come to love teaching middle school, and has found in recent years, a great way to balance out her personal and professional life, without sacrificing good teaching.
Peter and Shanna Toews made some big decisions pretty early in their careers that dramatically shifted the direction of programs and family. Today, they're incredibly successful, with two bright kids who have accomplished amazing things. Listen as we discuss their decision making process and how that's worked out. I also get to chat a bit with their children, who are about to head off to college.
Kathy and Doran Azari, recent retirees, share some wisdom from their long careers. We talk about having children and being music teachers, transitions in teaching lines, the "golden handcuffs", and minivans.
Colonel Jason Fettig is the commander of the President's Own United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C. and he joins me to discuss the culture in an ensemble, managing what might be the craziest schedule in the band world, and forgiveness towards ourselves. We pull back the curtain to see what makes this institution operate, and see beyond the uniforms, pomp and circumstance.
Cindy and Mandart are from Victoria, British Columbia in Canada and bring in some stories that parallel some of the things we face here in the US, including working to keep programs and positions funded, revisioning our program focus, and making tough decisions about our own career paths.
Julie Bounds is the director of bands at Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon. We discuss moving schools, the boys club that is the band director profession, and making time for the people we love. I also breakdown my observation of her rehearsals.
Tate Sakamoto is the band director at Waiākea Intermediate School in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, on the Big Island. He's relatively new to teaching, but has learned and is learning a lot in a community that is supportive and closely knit. We have a lot of similar experiences having to figure a lot of things out without having much to work with. He's in a unique club of directors who started teaching just as the pandemic hit, so he's got experiences and skills that I definitely don't have.
Jeremy Lawi is the Director of Bands at Mid Pacific Institute in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Jeremy teaches band in grades 6-12 at this smaller private school, and has faced unique challenges and benefits of starting and keeping the same students through the entire Gr. 6-12 band experienced, as well as the unique setting of the small school. He is also active as a performing musician, with the Oʻahu Band Directors Association, and the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony's Pacific Music Institute.
Willie Harris is the band director of the High School bands at Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus in Keaʻau on Hawaiʻi Island, commonly known as the Big Island. Jason and Willie talk through his transition from the middle school to high school and the changes he made in his life to fight the burnout. We also get to talk with Willie's wife Diane about her perspective.
My name is Jason Chin, and I'm a recovering band director. After 14 years of teaching middle school band, I made a big career move to leave my full time music education job to pursue a job in IT to bring better balance to my life. While I loved my job, the people I got to work with, and truly cherish what came out of my work, it was important for me to reflect on my past and my future. Here's my story about burning out and what guided my decision to leave.