Features Archives

The Lewis Prize for Music: A Revolutionary Grant
Mike Lawson | January 8, 2021
The mission of the Lewis Prize for Music is to partner with leaders and their groups who create positive change by investing in young people through music.
Read More...
Hal Leonard, Over 70 Years Later: A print publisher’s perspective on moving online
Mike Lawson | January 8, 2021
Music educators will probably always remember the exact day and time in March of 2020 when they were told they had to move their entire program online. From there, the rest of 2020 was a whirlwind of trying to teach through video, engage students, learn new technologies, create new curriculums, and constantly try and figure out when and how to mute and unmute microphones. We all had to pivot, adapt, adjust, take a deep breath, and keep pushing forward for our students.
Read More...
Dear Santa
Mike Lawson | December 3, 2020
What the #$%@ was that? 2020 will certainly be a memorable year for many things…. not many of them are good.
Read More...
Fall Classes During COVID-19
Mike Lawson | October 28, 2020
It all started with a viral photo. Anger, fear, confusion, and hopelessness swirled when Georgia high school sophomore Hannah Watters posted a picture of a crammed school hallway in early August, demonstrating just how hard it is to social distance in an in-person school environment.
Read More...
JackTrip Foundation’s Push for Realtime Online Performance
Mike Lawson | October 28, 2020
The past couple of issues I have printed stories about companies rushing to fill a need that sprung forth last spring -- the opportunity for musicians to perform or rehearse together remotely. The topic is fraught with barriers preventing real-time collaboration. Audio latency issues aside, there are computer needs, audio interfaces, Internet connections, microphones, webcams —a lot of things needed in order to run a remote live session using audio and video.
Read More...
Jim Stephenson: Composing His Future
Mike Lawson | July 15, 2020
Last fall, Hal Leonard and composer Jim Stephenson made a deal that would have shocked him decades ago: Stephenson agreed for Hal Leonard to be the exclusive print distributor for Stephenson’s original compositions.
Read More...
TI:ME Teacher of the Year: Anne Fennell
Mike Lawson | July 15, 2020
Anne Fennell’s music education got off to a rocky start. “I wanted to play the flute, but the band director at my elementary school told me no,” she recalls. “She handed me some drumsticks, but I was so bad at the drums and I wasn’t motivated. My mother still has the dresser that I threw my drumsticks against because I hated it so much.”
Read More...
Finding Resources In Urban Denver: Priscilla Rahn Earns Mr. Holland’s Opus Grant for Middle Schoolers
Mike Lawson | July 15, 2020
Middle school music teacher Priscilla Rahn has practical tips for educators seeking resources for their students. Just a few ideas include approaching craigslist sellers and suggesting they donate instruments in exchange for a tax deduction, borrowing and loaning instruments between schools, and “applying for everything.”
Read More...
Openers and Closers for Beginner Band
Mike Lawson | June 15, 2020
Administrators who evaluate performance-based music classes may not be musicians, but they often expect us to conform to the flow of more academic subjects, like LAL or math.
Read More...
Our New Reality
Mike Lawson | June 15, 2020
Most of us have been locked down now for more than two months. Many of you have been working diligently trying to find ways to engage your students in meaningful ways with music.
Read More...
She’s Got The Power! Courtney Powers and her mission to keep music-making alive in quarantine
Mike Lawson | June 15, 2020
Around mid-March, South Philadelphia High School music director Courtney Powers had a vehicle so stuffed with instruments, you would have thought that she was going on tour.
Read More...
What’s NOT Happening This Summer
Mike Lawson | June 15, 2020
Summer usually brings many fun learning opportunities for student musicians that might include day camps, resident summer camps, and travel with new friends and instructors.
Read More...