Hello Columbus... I think it is going to be a GREAT WEEK!
Once I got to Columbus, I got my luggage and got into an Uber to take me to the campus housing I would be staying at- Bowen House. This dorm was near all of the "newer" dorms at OSU and looked really good... From the outside. Once you got into the room, it seemed dated and was SO DIRTY. They provided "sheets" and "towels' if that is what you would call them. They were thin and stained pretty bad. Plus there was a very large pile of them just laying all over the floor near the elevator, so you wonder if they were even clean. I very quickly realized that if I was going to survive the next 6 nights, I would have to go and get my own towels, sheets and other items. So I walked to the nearby "Campus Corner" Target and let me just go ahead and say that was the best $75 I have EVER SPENT.
This place looked GREAT from the outside... But the inside told a MUCH DIFFERENT STORY!
A view of campus from the Target on High Street!
The first night was pretty rough, despite being COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED from all of the traveling, but I survived and was ready for a VERY FULL DAY at the workshop!
What doesn't kill you... Only makes you stronger!
I am officially TOO OLD, TOO FAT, TOO SHORT and TOO high maintenance for this! Lord help me!
It's GO TIME- Let's get this
My first session was Beginning Cello with Matt Hawley and I learned a ton of information that will be beneficial even for teaching high schoolers. My second and third morning classes were a secondary lab with Matt Redspinner about setting up your beginning (and beyond) orchestras for success. This was a little lower level than I CURRENTLY need but he knew my situation and specially gave information for teaching high schoolers.
I need a lot of work on cello so this class was right up my alley!
Then it was off to lunch at Traditions in Scott Hall. This was the traditional college cafeteria and was set up really nicely with a lot of various food options. It was also PACKED with students and parents of incoming Freshman Orientation. But the workers did a GREAT job of keeping it clean and fresh on most of the food lines. *This was included in my package of "Room and Board" for the week. It was $524 for 6 nights of dorm room and 2-3 meals per day in this cafeteria.
Outside of Scott Hall.. WOW, this campus is seriously GORGEOUS!
Inside Traditions- The set up was NICE and food was decent but absolutely NO variety!
After lunch it was a very busy afternoon loaded with incredible sessions. It began with a conducting seminar led by Miriam Burns. She has an incredible resume which includes conducting the New York Philharmonic. I learned A LOT and really wish I was able to be a part of her conducting lab as well. (I signed up too late for this track as it was full). This was my favorite session of the day!
This was immediately followed by 2 reading sessions with Robert Longfield, who is a famous composer/ arranger for Hal Leonard cooperation in the Orchestra division. I have played several of his songs in just my 4 short years of teaching orchestra. This was SO COOL and despite sounding like a scratchy mid-level Middle School violin player, I did decently well playing along with this songs. Plus I now have a list of songs I can play with my High School Orchestras.
This was SO COOL to be able to be a PART of a reading session AND with the composer!
Robert Longfield was SO laidback as well! I loved this!
Thank you Mr. Longfield. This was the highlight of my day, even though I could not play all the songs!
The last afternoon session was Chamber Music Connections with Debbie Price. This was a really neat session about connecting with the kids on a unique small group level that can be applied to the small and large ensembles as well. I didn't connect with this one as much as the previous sessions.
After the afternoon sessions, I went back to the dorm to rest for just a tiny amount of time before it was time to go back to Traditions for dinner. I met a really nice woman from North Carolina who was staying in the dorm and we shared our terror stories of the first night! Misery loves company!
My evening ended with 2 other sessions totaling 3 hours of a Conducting lab with Miriam Burns. Even though I was not able to be a part of the 8 people who got to conduct the orchestra, I still learned SO much and would LOVE to get to study with Mrs. Burns privately or at a conducting symposium. Seriously, this was AMAZING and reminded me of my true passion for conducting.
It was a day that was spent at the Music Hall from 7:30AM to 9:30PM... Literally, with only minimal 10-15 minute breaks. I have never been this tired from a conference- but this is SO WORTH it.
Here's to hoping the 2nd night at the dorm is a even just a "little" better than the first!
Day 3- Tuesday, July 11th
This day started a "little" later than the previous day but I was up and at the music building ready to start this SUPER LONG day at 8AM. I started by changing my class from the "Beginning Cello" to "Intermediate Bass" since I will now be teaching High School. This seemed like a great idea but many others thought the same and had already checked out an OSU bass, so I was left without one to play. I stayed in the class and observed and took notes but it was not the same.
Day 2... LET'S DO THIS!
Next it was time for my 2 hour "Non String Player" course led by Matt Redspinner. This class is not necessarily what I need right NOW in my career but rather something I needed 4 years ago as I transitioned into teaching orchestra; however, I learned on this day that this was a GREAT way for me to tweak some things to fit high school and even more importantly, it is a great reminder to me that I DID DO A GREAT JOB at Keefer. Especially since I did all the things this guy suggested to do. I spent the morning feeling good about myself which is rare it seems in this workshop. Plus, Matt has been exceptional is teaching a concept and then adapting it for me to use at the high school level.
A local music store provided a FREE pizza lunch and it was AWESOME. This pizza place is a local "HOT SPOT" (Donato's Pizza) and had the weirdest flavors. I tried an alfredo, chicken spinach and a spicy chicken with jalapenos, fried chicken wings and ranch. They both were amazing. Thank you Baroque Violin Shop for the lunch... It was GREAT!
The Fried Chicken Wing Pizza was... interesting! I'd order it again!
After lunch I went to 2 clinics led by Dr. Robert Gillespie (OSU Orchestra Director and Hal Leonard Essential Elements author) based on building effective warm-ups. This was not at all what I expected- which I thought was a session with handouts full of already created warm-ups. Instead this was clinics about how to create them yourself and how to go about doing that. In the long run, this is a much better clinic as I will leave with not just 1-3 things but the knowledge to create my own for years to come.
We got a small 30 minute break- Hello COFFEE... And then it was time for my favorite part of the entire workshop- Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser. Dr. Tim is a LEGEND in the music education field. When I was in college in my MUED classes, Dr. Raiber told us we HAD to go and see him at OMEA that year. He said he was an incredible speaker and really knew how to motivate you to be a better version of yourself. I did just that in 2003 and ever since then, Dr. Tim has been a favorite clinician of mine. I have seen him MANY times at TMEA, TBA and TODA. He really is incredible. I always leave feeling completely inspired and motivated to be the absolute best!
Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser is SERIOUSLY the best motivation speaker and MUED guy I have ever heard! He ALWAYS speaks to me!
Except this time... it really meant even more. This entire 3 hour session was about how to create a culture of excellence. He based this upon not the content knowledge needed to have a successful orchestra (or band or choir) program but the attitude and mindset of the person leading the program. This really spoke to me since I may not have all of the content knowledge right now for high school orchestra but I can lead. I can build relationships. I care about my students, I believe in them and I create a climate of mutual respect. I created a culture of excellence at Keefer, that is why we were so successful. I had to ask colleagues ALL THE TIME for help with shifting or fingerings or just about anything. But when you walked into my classroom at KCMS, there was a climate of excellence. After listening to Dr. Tim and him leading, showing and playing games to show us that it is all about the TEACHER not the content, I left feeling like I can and WILL do the same thing at New Caney HS. Excellence... Here I come!
We broke for a very brief dinner time, where I went to the cafeteria for a quick soup and salad then back to the music building for 2 more sessions. Mrs. Lofdahl led a great session about bringing in a variety of cultures to your program. We learned songs from Ireland, the Middle East and China. In some Aerobic genres, there is a "Double Flat" and your finger is just off the tape. Let me just say... I played this one PERFECT. Who knew all I needed was a terribly sounding note to be able to play a song. All I needed was the "wrong" note to actually be right and I actually sounded good.
I really enjoyed Heather's clinic! I went in thinking "I want to go back to the dorm, I'm so tired." But I left with a TON of information and really enjoyed the session!
The last session of the evening was the "My Favorite Orchestra Piece" session. This is where all of the attendees brought their favorite song they play with their groups and we all played through them. This was very helpful to hear all of these songs. I was able to walk away with several options to buy for the school year.
This night ended at 9:40PM and I was completely exhausted. I was so tired but was not looking forward to coming back to the TERRIBLE, dirty and loud dorm room. I stopped to get a milkshake at a local restaurant with hopes of me just crashing as soon as I got back to the dorm.
Walking back to the dorm after 9:30PM... It felt AMAZING outside! Not hot at all and NO HUMIDUTY!
This was an impulse buy... I just went in for toilet paper for the dorm bathroom!
A view of my floor as soon as your step off the elevator. This bag of towels had not moved and were SO DIRTY. You could see the stains and dirt on them from the bag! YUCK!
Wait a minute... Am I back in New York City where they just place full bags of trash everywhere! Can you imagine having to LIVE here more than just 5-6 days! NOPE... Not happening!
Another view of my hallway, full of trash, random towels and just yuckiness!
Day 2 was a success.. Day 3 is the featured day for High School and I cannot wait!
Day 3- Wednesday, July 12th
I woke up early on this day but then accidentally hit the "stop" button instead of "snooze" so I was hustling to get ready to make it to the first session at 8:30AM. I went to the beginning cello set-up class and was reminded that I did it right for the last 4 years which felt good.
Gotta stay hydrated and get some protein for the day as well.
Then I went to day 3 of the "non-string player" track of the morning sessions with Matt Redspinner. This was BASS day and I really enjoyed it. I did learn a few good new things and realized I have been setting up my bass students slightly off the past for years but I can fix that quickly even as they enter high school.
The second hour of this class was reaching the intermediate level of the violin/viola and I was getting into the level of violin playing I am currently at. Matt did a GREAT job of adjusting the topics to help me correlate them to high school. This daily 2 hour session has literally been the saving grace of the entire workshop thus far. In reality, I came into this workshop thinking that this 2 hour session would be the theme ENTIRE workshop. And as I reflect upon it all, I think it SHOULD be the entire concept of the workshop. Even if that meant that only the 10-15 of us that are truly NON STRING players did this. Out of the 80+ people in attendance, I would say less than 10 are truly NON string players. The rest are orchestral musicians who are here to further develop their orchestral abilities. Many are playing on "secondary" instruments but I have been in this business long enough to realize that the 4 string instruments are INCREDIBLY similar. Imagine an alto sax and a baritone sax. Maybe I am just tired and worn out from it all (this is incredibly intense and the most demanding professional development I have ever attended) but it was today that I realized, I am just a fish out of water.
I look tired, sad and just blah (kinda felt that too) but I tried hard and learned a lot!
Thanks Matt!
I meandered down to Traditions for lunch and had another day of soup and salad. The variety in the cafeterias has been, well... non-existent. I then went to two more sessions about building your program to be unified.
Salad and Fruit... It's what's for dinner (And lunch)!
This was the only day on the schedule where we got to have a "real" break (more than 15 minutes) and I used that break time to clear my head and take a walk around campus. I was able to go to the Horseshoe stadium, where the Buckeyes play football, the library, the student union and the massive OVAL. The campus truly is GORGEOUS and I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the fall and how pleasant the temperatures must be. In fact, that was the best part of the day; it took me nearly 25 minutes to even start sweating. In Houston, I would be sweating by the end of the block!
My first view of the "horseshoe"! This is a classic, iconic College Football stadium and even from the outside, was AWESOME!
I am in NO WAY an Ohio State Fan but just a COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN!
Showing my TRUE COLORS!
#OUDNA #BoomerSooner
A walk back to the music building via the OVAL.
Wow, this area of campus was GORGEOUS and so green!
A view of the Physics building on my way back to Timashev.
After the break was a general session with Jim Palmer, who is a famous string musician, educator and author. His first session was about reflecting on your personal and professional goals and he then shared what has worked and what has not worked in his career. He had some GREAT insight.
I got so involved and deep into his sessions that this is the only picture I was able to get. Thank you Mr. Palmer for some GREAT insight!
Mr. Palmer's last 2 sessions were geared towards High School and I was looking forward to it all day. It turned out to be a little different that what I expected but I got a LOT of great ideas, concepts and knowledge to take back home and apply to my new orchestra. Plus he teaches high school orchestra on a block schedule as well and offered his email and contact info to ask questions whenever needed. Be careful what you wish for Mr. Palmer, I may be spamming your inbox near daily with all my questions!
We ended the evening rehearsing with Dr. Robert Gillespie for our end of camp concert on Friday. We are playing 7 songs, all of which are grade 2+. I sat in the VERY back of the 2nd violin sections and sounded absolutely atrocious. I am not even exaggerating either. That is also where the other 5-7 band director transplants sat and we had a great time laughing at how bad we are. But in all seriousness, this is really just a concert for a bunch of orchestra directors to play in. THIS is where I felt like a fish out of water and literally felt like crying. It was very embarrassing and while none of the directors, clinicians or even other musicians said anything, I still felt their looks and judgement. I really enjoyed reading through the songs and I like many of them but I am legitimately scared for my addition to the performance on Friday.
Despite being AWFUL and sounding terrible, I was still able to sit in an ensemble led by Dr. Robert Gillespie. That is HUGE thing for a
For whatever reason, this was a very emotional day for me and I went through a complete 180* of all of the various "feels". The night ended after 9PM with the last rehearsal and I walked back to the dorm hoping I could just fall asleep and sleep the day off.
Tomorrow is a new day!
Day 4- Thursday, July 13th
I started out this day in the beginning cello class and it was once again a great way to start the day. I then went to the Non String Player 2 hour session with Matt Radspinner. Once again, this class has been the best part of the day. Today Matt went over intermediate bass techniques and the 2nd hour was all about budget and how to purchase the correct instruments and supplies. This was perhaps the absolute BEST part of the conference thus far as I may know a lot about music but the essential brands and company options are so far from the realm of my knowledge. Thank you Matt for all this info.
After a very rushed lunch in the Traditions cafeteria, it was back to the stage for a reading session with Katie O'Hara LaBrie. She is a new up and coming composer and I have played several of her songs with my middle school kids. However, experiencing her live and directing these songs was just so awesome. Her personality and style was amazing and I really enjoyed her 2 sessions. The later session was all about Randall Standridge, another new composer, and his new orchestra arrangements and songs. This was so cool and Natalie would have LOVED it as she is seriously in love with this guy. She has written him emails about songs and he has responded!
Katie O'Hara LaBrie was simply amazing. She was so chill and laid back but gave complete background about all of her pieces. I really enjoyed getting to know her!
The last session of the afternoon was with Charles Laux, of whose name I did not recognize but once I saw him in person I quickly realized I knew him and knew him VERY WELL. This guy has a HUGE website (www.orchestrateacher.net) and has all kinds of things readily available to use. From videos, worksheets, etudes, lesson plans and so much more. I am not even kidding when I say I use stuff from his website on a weekly basis. In fact, we watch so many of his videos in class that my beginners think he is FAMOUS and would freak out if they knew I met him! I tried to get a picture but after his 2nd session after dinner he had to hurry out with his family waiting in the lobby!
The last sessions of the evening were a concert rehearsal for our Workshop Concert on Friday and the final reading session of "My Favorite Orchestra". This is a great way to share songs we all know and like with each other. This session had all of the grade 3-4-5 songs so I was not really able to play (very well) along with the group but I did get some great songs to try playing with my high schoolers. We finally ended the night after 9PM.
This workshop has been great but I am so exhausted. This has been the most intense professional development I have ever experienced in 18 years and I certainly have gotten my money's worth. I have been in clinics every day, all day from 8AM to 9PM most days with very little breaks. It has been mentally and emotionally exhausting... But I have learned so much. I have so many things that I can even file away to pick up later. But I am REALLY tired. And I also really miss my two kids. I have officially not seen them for 2 whole weeks and my heart hurts SO MUCH! I just want to hold them and give them a hug! Not to mention it has been freshman orientation week and as the days have passed I have realized that this is going to be me in just FOUR SHORT YEARS! Where has the time gone? Where has my baby gone? I'm not ready!
It's 9:15PM and I have been going since 8AM... But I am still smiling!
It was a better day than the day before and I learned a LOT! Tomorrow is the last day for the Non String Player classes and our workshop concert!
Day 5- Friday, July 14th
This day started out with a maintenance and repair session with the local instrument shop. This was very helpful as I learned a lot about keeping instruments taken care of. I then went to the last non-string player session with Matt Radspinner. This was very helpful as we continued to dig deeper into the intermediate and advanced techniques for strings. I learned a lot that I can take back with me and use DAY 1 at the high school. We then learned more maintenance and this was so very helpful.
These non-string player sessions are not really what I need RIGHT NOW in my career (having taught 4 years of orchestra already) moving to the high school, but they were the saving grace of the workshop. They made me feel like I actually did something right and that I actually knew something. Plus Matt did an exceptional job differentiating the information so I could use it at the high school level. Thank you Matt.
Thank you Matt for all of your help!
You truly MADE MY workshop! Had it not been for you... I may not have made it!
The CORE Non-String Players (Band/Choir directors)
Then it was CONCERT TIME. We all walked down to the Ohio Union to give an afternoon concert for everyone, including those attending Freshman Orientation. We played 7 songs, all of which were grade 3.5+ (9th grade) or higher. And we only had 3 rehearsals. So as a non-string player, I did terrible and was decently embarrassed. BUT... I got better from the 1st rehearsal to the concert so there's that! Plus, I found a few new songs to try with my new high schoolers.
This was such a cool experience!
YES... It was HOT but nothing compared to Houston humidity!
Plus getting to perform with Dr. Gillespie is just priceless!
Concert Selfie time!
After the concert, I walked back to the dorm to try and cool off before the afternoon sessions back at the Timashev Music Building. The first afternoon session was led by Dr. Charles Laux and was about taking over at a new position. This seemed like exactly what I needed. Dr. Laux did a great job at this session and I have a lot of things I will take back with me.
It's been my home for the last 6 days!
This session was almost BUILT for me! Thank you Dr. Laux!
Then we had our final reading session and playing time with Dr. Gillespie with new Hal Leonard songs. Once again, all of these songs were beyond my playing ability but I walked away with a few song choices to look into.
It was then time to "rest" and go back to the dorm and pack to get ready for my travel day on Saturday. After a brief packing time, it was time to go to the Party hosted by the String Teacher Workshop at Schmidt's Sausage House. I rode with a friend to this restaurant about 20 minutes away and we had a great time. The food and drinks were great and there were some door prizes given away as well. In fact, Hal Leonard sponsored the dinner and gave away every single song that was in all of our reading sessions. There were so many songs, we each got 2 door prizes. Thank you OSU STW and Hal Leonard.
The German restaurant in Columbus
Dr. Gillespie handing over the "baton" to Dr. Lafdahl as she will take over the OSU String Music Education department. I learned talking to her that there are only 14 students in this String MUED program; which seems shockingly LOW!
Thank you Dr. Gillespie for a great week and the door prizes!
I got to sit down and talk with Katie O'Hara LaBrie for a while after the dinner and just LOVE HER! I really wish I would have thought about getting one her pieces as the door prize as she was signing them all!
The CORE Non- String Players!
LOVE YOU GUYS!
We didn't get back to the dorms until after 10:30PM due to construction traffic on our route back to campus. I tried to pack as much as I could to get ready for my journey back to God's Country!
Today was a good day and despite sounding terrible, I enjoyed the concert and really enjoyed the social party. But I have never been more ready to be home. It has been a very intense, long and exhausting week.
Day 6- Saturday, July 15th
I woke up early in anticipation of getting home. It had been over 2 weeks since I saw my two children and I was beyond anxious just to get a hug from them. Plus this workshop had been so very intense and demanding. I got everything packed up and made my way one last time to the Timashev Music Building for the last few sessions. All three of these sessions were good and I left with even more information.
I kept this in the suitcase ALL WEEK but it was time to pull it out and REPRESENT!
#BoomerSooner #OUDNA #OUGRAD
I was tired of all the buckeye stuff
I grabbed lunch on High Street before getting in an Uber around 12PM to beat the rain to the airport. The Uber driver insisted on sharing his life story and I was just done for the day. I got to the airport and sat in the Chili's restaurant with a cocktail for 4 hours until my flight left at 4:45PM. TIP- You cannot turn in checked luggage until 4 hours before your flight. I had to sit at the entrance of the actual airport until 12:45PM just to turn in my two suitcases! I never knew this was a rule!
This local place on High Street was really good!
My plane arrived around 4:10PM and shortly after I was on board and in the air back to Houston. The flight was not even sold out and I had a seat in the front of the plane without a middle passenger. The flight was VERY rough but it could have been worse!
I got home and grabbed my luggage before Chris and the kids greeted me in the parking lot of the Hobby Airport! I MISSED THEM ALL SO MUCH!
This was a good week and a very unique professional development workshop. I am not sure it was exactly what I thought it would be but it was beneficial to me and my career move to teaching High School. I am not sure I would go back EVERY YEAR but I think it is a quintessential workshop for Orchestra Directors, especially traditional string musicians.
Thank you Mr. Chuter (past NCISD Fine Arts Director), Mr. Woodard (colleague at NCISD), Mr. Powell (NCHS Principal) and Mrs. Chelette (NCISD finance) for allowing me to attend this workshop and for paying for this incredible experience. I am beyond grateful to each and every one of y'all and I know my students will benefit for years to come for my attendance. Thank you so much for EVERYTHING!
Thank you JESUS for this amazing week and the unbelievable opportunity you have blessed me with at New Caney High School. I owe it all to YOU!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
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