This week Kathryn and Theresa interviewed Angela Ammerman, an adjunct professor of music at George Mason University in Northern Virginia. Angela is a lifelong music educator, teaching her dolls to sing as a young child, teaching private lessons in her neighborhood as a middle school student, and working as a counselor at a strings camp…
This week Kathryn and Theresa had the pleasure of interviewing NAfME president-elect, Scott Sheehan! In addition to his NAfME responsibilities, Scott is the high school band director and K-12 music department chair in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He is involved with PMEA, working with their Leadership Academy and the Model Curriculum Framework project. Scott is also a…
This week’s interview features Matt Clauhs, an associate professor of Music Education at Ithaca College. Matt’s background includes degrees from Penn State University (B.S.), the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (M.M.) and Temple University (Ph.D.), as well as experience teaching band students at both the elementary and high school levels. As a jazz saxophone player, Matt…
This week’s interview features Melissa Clark, a music teacher in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Currently, Melissa teaches 4th-6th grade strings and sixth grade general music. She also has experience teaching 7th and 8th grade strings. Melissa lives in the same town she teaches in, which has given her the opportunity to have her children as part…
Welcome back! This week, Kathryn and Theresa interviewed Rachael Sanguinetti, a middle school music teacher in Rochester, New York. Rachael’s teaching load includes middle school chorus and a variety of general music classes, such as 6th grade foundational music, audio production and modern band, ukulele, and more. Being at an independent school, Rachael has the…
This week Kathryn and Theresa talked to Mandy Hollingshead, an international band teacher. Mandy has taught in the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Beijing. Prior to teaching internationally, Mandy was a band director in Canada. One thing Mandy has tried to incorporate in all of her schools is having students help with concert planning. When…
Happy New Year! This week, we were excited to interview Shemeka Nash, a band director in Chicago, Illinois. Shemeka currently teaches 7th-12th grade band at Morgan Park High School and is also the fine arts department chair. She has done a lot of great things for the band program at Morgan Park, including creating a…
As 2021 comes to an end, we’ve been looking back at some of the great things that happened for Pass the Baton this year. In December, we celebrated #12DaystoPasstheBaton! Each day, we shared one of our favorite interviews or resources for student empowerment in music. Just as empowered music students should reflect regularly, so should…
This week’s interview features Brian Ackles, a vocal music teacher at Marcellus High School, in Marcellus, NY. Brian has taught in his current position for 20 years, and previously taught middle school and elementary school music. He received his bachelor’s degree from Westminster Choir College and his master’s degree from the University of Texas at…
This week, Kathryn and Theresa talked to Levi Allison, a music teacher in South Korea. Levi has taught music in Kuwait and China, and currently teaches first through third grade general music at Chadwick International School. Levi’s school follows the IBPYP (International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme) framework and inquiry-based learning is prevalent in his classroom. In…