The Beth and Kelly Show: Music Teaching (and Life)

We had such fun reminiscing with former colleagues Blake Saunders & Jared Sessink, both former Washington Middle School and current Garfield High School music educators. We start to unpack some complexities of these schools, the pipeline, and making big moves in the name of equity.

We talk with Chris Thomas, band director at Bainbridge Island HS, and we dig into his jazz combo curriculum and innovative small ensemble jazz festival. We talk about how “chamber technique” applies across the board for all levels and how it truly is a key tool for making music with anyone anywhere!

This show with music educator, performer,  and creativity coach Steve Treseler is still spinning around in our brains. We talk about how imperative it is to teach our students that it is ok and healthy to be creative, and we confront what stops us from doing this as we maneuver within the rigid structures of music education in the US that never really did leave much room for creative decision-making . Unleash your / your students’ inner-artist!

Today’s episode features one of our fave music educators — choral pedagogue and general music specialist , Carol Burton.  So many uplifting words of wisdom, stories, and GEMS to be found in Carol’s narrative. You GOTTA listen! You’re not going to regret it.

We were joined by Orlando G Morales, the Associate Artistic Director and Community Engagement Officer at Seattle’s storied Fifth Avenue Theater! We talk about his remarkable life (as a Filipino American, a pro improvising musician, an arts non-profit community change-maker, certified educator, and arts learning standards expert)! LISTEN TO THIS SHOW! There are some amazing ideas and thoughts unearthed about moving the needle in Music Ed. It is TIME TO ACT! It is time to COLLABORATE!

We talk about our over-arching philosophy that “the kids can play”  — and how as teachers, we sometimes might inadvertently hold students back from “just playing” because we think we have to go through all kinds of complicated steps and procedures before they “start,” so that they are “ready,” putting learning on a long drawn out (potentially unnecessary) timeline.  Then, we talk about a miraculous camp at Seattle JazzED where kids go from zero to performing in 4 days. 

This is our Season Two “Soft” Closer. We unpack the incredibly inspiring NAfME National Assembly, all of the rich topics we dug into last week in DC, and all of the 5-alarm emergencies that are happening in our world making teaching and learning extremely difficult (all while the devastating SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v Wade happened). This dovetailed into both of us sharing narrative about why teaching “5 shows a day” for 40 years in the public schools is not sustainable for us (nor for a huge and growing cross-section of current and not-yet music educators nation-wide). 

As we wrap up what many would consider one of the toughest teaching years on record, it is a great time for secondary instrumental; and choral educators to dream big about ways to utilize the understandings and knowledge we’ve gathered over this trying period about our students, and what really matters. It has been a time of reckoning for many of us as we realize that many of our students (and we) have different needs after all that has happened, yet we are still often obliged to engage in many of the same types of adjudicated events that likely needed an overhaul pre-covid, with unadjusted requirements, and unchanged rubrics. This has to be causing some cognitive dissonance for us as we saunter into the summer. Join Beth Fortune and Kelly Clingan (co-hosts of the popular Music Education podcast The Beth and Kelly Show) and string specialists Dr. Kelsey Nussbaum (University of Washington), and Corie Benton (Cobb County School District) in an interactive discussion and idea-gathering NAfME Council for Orchestral Education Town Hall all about putting the FESTIVE back into student festivals!

Today’s guest was Dr. David Myers, chairperson of the Taskforce on the Undergraduate Music Major, and one of the writers of “Transforming Music Study from Its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors.” We had an EPIC conversation that really started to give us actual hope that the critical transformation of university level music and music education programs — the kind of transformation that then allows k12 music education to ALSO truly evolve — is POSSIBLE! Listen to what David has to say — it’s time for some grand gestures!

Today’s show features “music ed power couple” Ruth Boden (low strings specialist) and Dean Luethi (choral specialist) — 2 amazing music faculty members at Washington State University! We dig in to the life-changing aspects (for our students) of participation in music and the flip-side of the coin: navigating the gauntlet of time-honored structures in music ed that have shown (especially in this era touched by COVID) to sometimes cater to only the super-served, and sometimes even extinguish the deeply personal joy that we as educators KNOW our students can attain.

This episode features an exceptionally inspiring music educator, performer, singer-songwriter, and music education mover/ shaker named  Ailisa Newhall! She is SO aligned with our vision of collectively transforming our practice to focus on the artistic PROCESS and de-emphasize the sports-like mentality of competitive music performance. You will come away with motivation and ideas for making moves of your own — so check it out , and join our coalition!

In this show we talk with thought-leader Kelsey Nussbaum about ways to shift music education to be more about honoring and building skills in the Artistic Process (over competition, and perfection in performance).  And we “go there” by opening up discussion about Texas. Yes. We. Did.

Wobbly internet won't stop a music educator that KNOWS WHERE ITS AT — Liana Green. Empowering kids to love music and giving them the tools to seek it out and make it happen for themselves (even (gasp!) non-trad band or orchestra instruments). If you need a boost of inspiration, check this out. And — be on the lookout for work that Liana is contributing to in our community orgs The Rhapsody Project and Seattle JazzED!

“Part Deux” of our assessment discussion with string and Mariachi educator/ music ed pedagogue Scott Glasser . We talk about strategies for building a culture in the classroom where PROCESS is finally valued more than PRODUCT. He shared some interesting ideas for ensuring the ability to provide feedback to students on a regular basis through low-stakes “rough drafts” for playing tests.

The one. The only. The amazing. Scott Brown. Roosevelt High School is in the house for our first ever public broadcast!

Megan Vinther teaches in Everett, WA and does it ALL. It's concert/contest season and we dig into being a woman with a baton and the hurdles that come with it. 

We got the chance to hear from saxophonist and educator Derek Douget , Director of Music Education at the Heritage School of Music, a part of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. 1. You SIMPLY MUST listen to Derek talk about his inspiring approach to teaching kids and reaching them not just with music but with community building, PLUS his amazing story (how he was mentored by and then was the saxophonist in Ellis Marsalis’s band for more than 20 years). And, H. You WILL ABSOLUTELY BE WAY TOO EXCITED to plan your next student travel excursion to the BIG EASY.

This week’s show was just Kelly Clingan and I asking YOU: what should we talk about next?!?!! Who should we have on the show to enlighten us in this dumpster fire-within a dumpster fire-within a dumpster fire of a a year? 

This week’s show was with Reese Tanimura, one of the main organizers of NW Foklife and a huge contributor to all kinds of other arts and culture things in our region. We had a great convo about what FOLKLIFE is (not just a cool festival in Seattle in May), and how it is literally the convergence of everyone/ everywhere/ everything in a community. Our schools and our music classrooms are gardens where Folklife blooms with the type of fruit that changes the course of our students’ lives! What would happen if we decided to identify, and then center the folklife in our midst?

ATX educator and entrepreneur Estela Aragon is the founder and CEO of two great companies for trumpet learners: MusicFit Academy and Trumpet Headquarters. We dig into the concept of folks like us (music educators with degrees in music ed and/ or music performance) actually making a living as an entrepreneur. Actually making life happen and THRIVING outside of the confines of the classroom walls WHILE STILL SERVING OUR GREATER MISSION of furthering and bettering the structures of what we do — helping others realize their potential in the arts (and specifically music).

On this rare show without a special guest, we get autobiographical in our first #metoo discussion. We open up with the story of how two young tattooed music teacher colleagues (us) who decided to create a music department website that had our new professional headshots on the teacher page were characterized in feedback from the public. You’ll want to listen if you are interested in the sordid details. This is an important and uncomfortable topic to get into. Thanks to our listeners for “going there” with us!

Are the all-consuming ways we approach teaching music in high school sustainable? Chandra decided to address this problem head-on.

Adam shares about his new course "Black American Music" for non-musician high schoolers. Check out this honest discussion about an important curriculum.

It's our Season One Finale and we're joined by former students Maia Nelson, Tate Linden, Sean MacCarthy-Grant, and Mariah Roberson. In conjunction with the NAfME Council for Jazz Education, we talk openly and honestly about the effects our "jazz is for everybody" program had on their creative lives. Extra bonus as we're joined at the end by listeners David Kauffman and Scott Brown.

Berklee has very purposefully changed the narrative on who can study music in college, on what instruments are acceptable, and on what type of music must be demonstrated to get in. Further demonstrated with The Berklee World Strings, and an extremely cutting edge American Roots degree program (i.e non classical for strings and other instruments) whose grads are making a presence on the airwaves and on the world-wide stage, Berklee not only allows, but encourages cross-collaboration. 

We discuss the skills that ACTUALLY help us play music with other humans, and why it is imperative for us as educators to help students bring their own musical interests to life.

Peter Briggs is the band director at Lincoln HS in Tacoma, WA and has made a lasting impact on his community by centering students. Music is just the vehicle, folks! 

Celebrating Episode 40 of the B&K Show with concert violinist, hip hop artist, pastor, and educator John “Adidam” Littlejohn, our neighbor to the north (from Vancouver, BC)! John shares ideas for connecting with communities through really listening; for transforming our teaching, our programs, our schools and our organizations by seeking, welcoming, and honoring new voices and perspectives and talents — listen in for some real inspiration!

Today’s guests, members of the ultra creative brass quartet The Westerlies, were Riley Mulherkar and Willem DeKoch. In our conversation, we unpack at length the observation that the creativity/ vision/ intuition/ collaboration aspect of the Artistic Process is the hardest to cultivate in our students. 

We're joined by Marcus Pimpleton, Executive Director for Racial and Educational Justice for Yakima Public Schools. He is also an experienced school administrator AND a band director! Marcus makes the point that these are the things kids want: happiness and pride. He challenges us to focus in on these things and watch the transformation start to happen to our music making communities! 

Ever wonder what college music ed majors wish could be a part of the undergrad curriculum? Listen to CWU Junior, saxophonist Shaina Ellis, a student leader in the CWU music program and the CWU JEN Chapter talk with us about what she wishes could be required courses of study. We also get deep into the concept of student teaching (from both the student teacher and mentor teacher perspective). 

Anu shares some courageous ideas, approaches, and mindsets for giving more choice and control to students, which stand to transform and empower their present AND future lives, should we decide to put them to practice! Are you interested in making the most of this unique moment in time and furthering music education? Then listen to this!

Listen in for Sarah’s (quite frankly genius) ideas about approaching a total overhaul of an instrumental music program in a secondary public school setting. Many of us have  thought that change is needed in our “traditional” approaches to teaching music in the public schools...take it from Sarah: It can be done, in super cool ways, and the time is now.