It’s no secret that I may have a podcast problem.
One new podcast that may be of interesting to music teachers and music educators that I’ve recently come across is the Music On Purpose podcast, with host Bryan Crisp.
Bryan is a trumpet player in northern Kentucky and has an active career as both an active freelancer and teacher.
I heard about this podcast from a friend on Facebook, and the episode that grabbed my attention first was Bryan’s interview with Brad Rogers, the longtime band director at Oldham County High School.
Brad has been teaching high school band for 40 years, and I’ve worked with him and his students for about the last 12 or so. He runs a well-rounded band program, with strong (non-competitive) marching band, two concert bands, jazz band, percussion ensemble, a theory class, and a pit orchestra.
Whether or not you know Brad (or the OCHS program) I think this episode is well worth a listen if you’re at all involved in education. He gives a very brief overview of how he starts off beginning students, and his approach and attitude is one that I’ve tried to emulate over the years. It’s certainly been great to learn first-hand from him, and you can get a small piece of that for free from this episode!
Once you finish with that episode, there are quite a few others that are worth listening to. I’ve especially enjoyed Episode 16 with Paul Piller, who works contracting musicians with the Cincinnati Broadway series, and Episode 04 with Nate Siler, the Professor of Trombone at EKU. I’ve worked with Nate for a little bit when he was in Louisville (with Brad at OCHS), and Paul’s episode was a pretty interesting dive into what it’s like hiring (or not!) contract musicians for some of the big Broadway touring shows.
If you’re into education (music or otherwise) or looking for other podcast hole to dive into, give Music On Purpose a listen!
