After 12 years as a public school music educator I would hardly call myself an expert in the field. That said, I have not only noticed some trends, but I have been lucky enough to move with them and in the process, perhaps, been able to, at lease in some way, change the paradigm. At least a little.
I suppose this is really about MY state of music education; but anyway, after completing a Masters in Conducting from the U of A in Tucson - something I am still very proud of - I began a journey as a music educator that has proven to be far more life changing than I ever could have anticipated. In the most obvious aspects, I met my wife, also a teacher, along the way, which has now blossomed into our son Gray and soon Tanner, so that part of the "life change" is pretty easy to see.
But the more subtle changes have occurred over the past years as I have both struggled and, I think now in many ways, succeeded in finding a viable balance between my true musical self and my desire to help students further develop their own creative process. It sounds horribly cliche, but, perhaps sadly, I truly believe in it. Regardless of where or who, regardless of if I am actually any good at it or not, my real job is to help others find and develop their creative instincts. Whatever they go on to do later in life, the pursuit of further refined creative instincts is at the top of the list of my priorities.
So I no longer direct orchestras as often as I would like, and though I miss it, if I am being truly honest, I am not certain I was ever very good at it from a technical standpoint. Which is not to say that I did not afford my students educationally beneficial opportunities - I am certain I did. But I am acutely aware that, even with the best of intentions, I may not have always been the best at it.
And after many years of growth for both them and me, it became obvious that a change was needed. I clearly hit a wall a few years ago. I no longer felt I could musically connect with the students as effortlessly as before, and as I look back I realize that I was solely responsibly for that growing lack of connection - not the students. Perhaps I hit that wall that so many educators hit after about 5 years, I do not know. If so, at least I was in year 11 when it happened, so I can claim I beat the odds a bit, no?
In the years prior to that I had been somewhat split between the "traditional" classes of band and orchestra - which I truly loved, and the more "contemporary" classes of Songwriting and Analysis, which I also loved and found to be more internally driving. And then, a kind of miracle that is rare in education happened: I found myself in a situation to develop and pioneer a new type of music program. And out of that came what we now call "Contemporary Music and Sound."
To call CMAS successful would be a great understatement. To call me the reason for its success, would be laughable. In so many ways I am now like a guy how is handing out free money - it's not me they love, it's the money. I can take credit for the concept and the curriculum, but CMAS works on its own, and that may actually be the most significant part of my accomplishment in creating it: it does not need me to work.
(end part 1)
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