Summer is in full swing, and for many band and orchestra directors that means soaking up the sun by the beach or heading off on daring adventures. But for those teachers seeking professional enrichment, summer is a time to enroll in workshops and seminars designed just for them. It’s a season of renewal in many ways – the only “free” time music educators may have all year.
In this Report, School Band and Orchestra provides a window into what’s happening this summer, with a sampling of the 2002 summer refresher courses available to music educators. While many of these courses are already in progress, similar ones will be offered by these same schools and organizations next year.
Bands of America Summer Symposium
www.bands.org
The Bands of America Summer Symposium offers a Directors’ Workshop, which includes “motivational” sessions on topics such as how to design a curriculum and how to develop student leadership, a conductor’s series, a technology track, a drum instructor academy and a color guard instructor academy. For more information, visit the Web site.
Eastman School of Music Summer Session
www.rochester.edu/Eastman/
Eastman’s Summer Session provides day- and week-long workshops and seminars for teachers (which are, in some cases, also open to students). This year’s schedule includes Eastman Bass Day, Improvisation for All of Us, Canadian Brass Weekend, Jazz Teachers Workshop and the Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp. Full listings can be found on Eastman’s Web site.
Jazz at Lincoln Center
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
The Essentially Ellington program at Jazz at Lincoln Center offers a Band Director Academy each summer. The Academy includes four days of intensive study of jazz big band music, individual attention and active participation, a demonstration band for hands-on experience, a faculty concert and jam session. The curriculum includes jazz history, rhythm section techniques, improvisation, rehearsal techniques, jazz pedagogy, repertoire. For more information, visit the Web site.
TI:ME Technology Institute for Music Educators
www.ti-me.org
The Technology Institute for Music Educators offers teachers the opportunity to brush up on their music technology skills, with a series of beginner and advanced courses. Level one courses include basic mastery of electronic instruments, MIDI sequencing and notation as well as instructional software, communications and digital media. Advanced courses focus specifically on one subject each: notation, sequencing, electronic instruments, multimedia authoring, interactive Internet authoring, digital media and a course called Integrating Technology into the Music Curriculum. Locations vary. Visit the Web site for details.
University of Dayton Department of Music
www.udayton.edu
The University of Dayton’s summer music workshops include Teaching Music with Technology, Instrument Repair, Inclusion: Music and the Special Learner, Percussion Refresher Course for Band and Orchestra Directors, Finale: Music Notation and Arranging, Literature and Resources for the Instrumental Ensemble, Tuning and Intonation Issues and Solutions for School Bands, Advanced Conducting and Rehearsal Techniques and Teaching World Music. For more information, visit the Web site.
University of Miami School of Music
www.miami.edu
The University of Miami has several music training courses scheduled this summer: Elementary/Secondary General Music Workshops, Band Director’s Workshop, Preschool Music Workshop, Suzuki Institute Teacher Training in Violin, Teaching Classroom Guitar and more. The Band Director’s Workshop examines assessment procedures and materials for the instrumental music teacher as well as alternatives to the traditional band/choir/orchestra teaching models. For more information, visit the Web site.
University of New Mexico
College of Fine Arts
www.unm.edu
The University of Mexico College of Fine Arts presents summer workshops for music educators that cover a variety of disciplines. Courses on this summer’s schedule include Beginning Music Literacy in the Elementary Grades Using Conversational Solfege, Jazz Improvisation and Rhythm Section Techniques for the School Band Director, and Teaching Musical Understanding Through Improvisation. Clinicians for these workshops are Christopher Azzara, John Feierabend and Frank Mantooth. Visit the Web site for further information.
