Podcast

In his 20th year as a music educator, Jared Cassedy, K-12 Performing Arts Coordinator for Lexington Public Schools, explains how music education creates good people. He explains the steps to create good musicians, students, and people.

Lexington is a town of 35,000 people located ten miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. 

This is the first of a two-part conversation recorded on December 13, 2022.

Kristy White, District Fine Arts Coordinator for the Jackson-Madison County School System, gives practical tips for establishing policies and procedures at the beginning of the school year that will help to set up a band program for success. Her district, located in West Tennessee, serves around 13,000 students in 22 schools.

Kristy also discusses early inspirations that led her to music education. This conversation was recorded on December 15, 2022.

Chris Vitale, Director of Bands at Westfield High School, was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators. In this conversation, he talks about the importance of creating a positive environment for students through kindness, acceptance, respect, and support. We'll also learn more about the marching band's success at Westfield and how the program has grown since Chris joined the faculty in 2011. This conversation was recorded in July 2022. 

A discussion on the popularity of jazz among the students and their audiences with Wes Lowe, Director of Instrumental Arts at The King's Academy. We'll also learn about their marching band program and some high-profile venues where they've performed in Florida.

This conversation is the second part of an interview recorded July 5, 2022.

Wes Lowe, Director of Instrumental Arts at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, discusses what it's like to direct ensembles at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels and how he has grown the band program at the school in the last few years.

Wes was recently named to the 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators. This conversation was recorded July 5, 2022. This is the first half of that chat.