Music Education
Chuck Wackerman always enjoyed making music. As a child he took trumpet lessons and later fell in love with jazz. Chuck joined the United States Air National Guard after high school, and later graduated from USC to become a music teacher and band director. He began teaching in 1957 at McGaugh...
Andrew Vickers teaches middle school instrumental music in DeWitt, Iowa. Classes under his instruction range from concert band, jazz band, and even guitar classes, as well as private lessons for all ages. He speaks here about teaching in a small school and about being new to a school.
Ray Ostwald Originally from Wisconsin, Mr. Ostwald has taught orchestra in Illinois for twenty years and has been at York Community High School in Elmhurst for the past sixteen. He comes from a musical family, and provides insights here about the hiring and interview process for music educators.
Jeff Heid is the Head Band Director at Muscatine High School in Muscatine, Iowa. He speaks here about rebuilding a program, that was once numbering in the two-hundreds, by focusing on retention and offering options to students.
Charles Staley is the Fine Arts Chair at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois. He speaks about growing as an educator and the importance of placing students first to provide for successful music-making and education.
Frank Lestina has taught for eleven years at Vernon Hills High School in Vernon Hills, Illinois. He speaks here about attracting and retaining students and about the importance of visibility to incoming middle school students.
Dr. John Benham’s area of expertise is saving and restoring music programs in the face of budget cuts. With over 30 years as a music educator and six years on a school board, his personal knowledge and experience has provided a unique understanding to help teachers and parents go before a school...
John Espy teaches at Milford Exempted Village Schools in Milford, Ohio, where he teaches music at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Here, he speaks about transitions into middle and high school music programs and about how to retain students by continually seeking and showing the...
Barbara Siler is the Assistant Director of Bands at Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools, a small but growing school system. She teaches grades six through twelve. At the beginning of her career, she served as a long-term substitute teacher. Here, she talks about the interview process for music educators...
Hirotaka Kawai is the president of the Kawai Music Corporation in Japan and has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, the company's founder and his father, who expanded the company after World War II. Kawai-San has played a vital role in the development of factories both within Japan and in...