Band Directors
Bill Causey had a long history of music in his family. His father was a band director and both his father’s brother and sister were fine musicians. Bill had great memories of the family dinners being followed by a sing along and music making! While earning his music education degree he worked...
Gordon Grubbs grew up in a very musical home. His mother was a professional pianist and was very encouraging to Gordon when he was three and wanted to play. Gordon was later guided by a very influential teacher, which was an experience that forever cemented his own direction in music. He studied...
Lou Witt grew up on a small farm in Iowa and one day asked his band director in school for an instrument. He was given a trombone and has played the instrument ever since. He enjoyed playing music and soon developed an interest in working within the music industry. Lou worked for Schmitt Music in...
John Waltrip began being involved in music as a small child and in fact, became the main pianist for his church as a teenager. He played in the school bands and studied music in college. He taught music after college before being drafted. Even in the army, John sang in the choir group, which...
Don Mozingo was a teacher in a small schoolhouse for over 20 years and among the topics he taught was music. His love and passion for music can be traced to his parents and, as a child, Don began teaching himself to play every musical instrument. While teaching, he began repairing instruments for...
Jim Kaplan and his longtime partner, Jim Botti, were both band directors in Pittsburgh area schools when they saw the need to provide private lessons after school. Together they opened a small studio, with a small glass case for accessories. That case expanded and within a few years the store was...
Jim Botti always had a passion for music education and in fact has taught most of his life. In 1958, after he met Jim Kaplan, the two opened a teaching studio that would grow into a music store. In fact, Brighton Music has two locations in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. While the two Jims...
Donald Hodges is a music educator who has taken on the research role to map the brain's responses to music. His research has shown that music is not just a nice, but unnecessary element of the human life, but rather something that is necessary and very much a core part of the human experience. As...
David Eccles is the Director of String Music Education at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He speaks here about the first steps for any new teacher and how to keep music culturally relevant in the lives of students.
David Cole is the Director of Bands at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a graduate of Indiana State University. Here, he speaks about having a relationship with the administration and finding support for his music program even during tough economic times.