Thinking Outside the Box With Concert Band

The following two articles come from music educators in the Kansas City area who chose to think outside the box with their programs. The first comes from the music coordinator of 5A district with two high schools and four middle schools who was looking for ways to get all of the various concert ensembles extra feedback prior to large ensemble festival in the spring. The second comes from a K-12 director in a 1A district looking to engage her students and the school community by creating an interactive audience experience while the band performed a programmatic work. Thanks to Aaron and Jennifer for their contributions! I hope that one of these two ideas gets your creative juices flowing as your concert season gets under way! - Mike Steffen

Mike Steffen joined the PMC team as an Educational Representative in 2011, and has since traveled all over Missouri serving directors and their programs. He is a KC native and a graduate of Grandview High School, and holds Music Education Degrees from University of Missouri - Kansas City and Missouri State. He served as a band director in the Lee's Summit R-7 & Pleasant Hill R-3 School Districts where he taught band in grades 5-12. His main passions are teaching jazz at all levels and working with middle school band programs. Groups under Mike's direction consistently earned top ratings, and his students regularly achieved success in honor bands and at solo/ensemble festivals. Mike is married to his high school sweetheart Miranda, and is the proud papa of three beautiful girls - Melody, McKenna, and Mae!