Educator. Composer. Musician. Researcher.

Returning to Westwood Middle School, my own former middle school, was one of the great joys of my teaching career. In 2019–2020 I taught 168 fifth-grade beginning band students, meeting them each week in group lessons of five to fifteen so every young player got real attention on their instrument.

When it came time for our first concert in February 2020, I made a choice that mattered deeply to me: every one of them would take the stage together. Weeks later, the pandemic interrupted the year, which made that night mean even more.

Sixth grade is where young musicians decide whether band is something they tried or something they are. I co-taught 240 of them, rehearsing sections of 30 to 40 at a time, with each ensemble preparing and performing its own works.

Beyond the rehearsal room, I designed a district-wide K–12 music technology plan and worked with administrators and colleagues to modernize curriculum and expand performance opportunities.

High school is where music becomes identity. Across three schools, I learned that the strongest programs aren't built on repertoire alone. They're built on culture: what students believe about themselves when they walk into the band room, and what the whole school believes about them when they walk onto the floor.

At Minneapolis Roosevelt, DeLaSalle and Tartan, the mission stayed the same: build programs where every student sees themselves in the music, and where the music reaches well beyond the school walls.

Game day in a Big Ten stadium is its own kind of classroom. With the University of Minnesota Marching Band, I led sectionals, coached instrumental sections and conducted full-ensemble rehearsals to prepare for home games and bowl games alike.

Behind every halftime show was a long list of details: drill, logistics and staging. I worked closely with the directors to bring halftime shows, pregame traditions and televised performances to life for hundreds of student musicians.