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Working for Norwin
Working for Norwin. I’ve been talking about my college experience. I wanted to be a marching band director. That’s what drove me to college and that is why I was fighting my way through classes that confounded me. A practicum was required for one of my classes. I needed to observe a music program alongside…
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Keyboard proficiency exam
Keyboard proficiency exam. Now there is a weird title for a post. I’ve been talking about my college experience in my previous posts. Last week I talked about my troubles with music theory and music history. Those subjects were difficult, but neither troubled me more than the keyboard proficiency exam (KPE). What the heck is…
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Out of my league
When my college classes started I realized that I was out of my league. I had the desire to be a great band director and I knew how to play trumpet and euphonium, but I knew absolutely nothing about the theory or history of music. This was going to be a big problem. What’s a…
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My college experience
I began my college experience in the fall of 1983. I had made it into James Madison University (JMU) by the skin of my teeth and now I was going to pursue my dream of becoming a band director. Leaving home Many kids have parents who send them off to camp for a week in…
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Bruce Weissert
My memories of Bruce “Bud” Weissert. I introduced Bruce Weissert in last week’s post. Bruce passed away in 2019 at the age of 59. This week I’ll expand on my experience as Bruce’s student. Meeting Bud I had taken private lessons on trumpet since fifth grade. My parents saw the value in getting me extra…
