Meeting with Administration

It’s been just over two weeks since receiving the invitation from Midwest. This morning was my first opportunity to sit and talk about the Midwest Clinic for an extended time with my administration. The agenda of that meeting is available here if you’re interested.

I’ve found that one of the most difficult tasks is explaining to non-band/orchestra people why a Midwest Clinic performance is such a big deal. I don’t like analogies…they don’t do it justice. Music is not a sport. Plus, I’m convinced that some (most?) non-music people just won’t get it until they actually see it with their own eyes. For our staff, administration, and school board, I’ve nicely compiled the nearly one hundred congratulatory emails and phone calls we’ve received from throughout country over the last two weeks. I’ll also be giving a presentation at a staff meeting and again at a school board meeting to further try to communicate how significant an honor this is.

One of the things I have done over the years is to bring my administrators to the Midwest Clinic. Whenever the district hires a new administrator, the first thing I do is invite them to spend a day a Midwest with me. So far, the count is up to 3 superintendents, 2 principals, and 2 assistant principals. That may seem like a lot for the last ten years, but it is important that my bosses know what my goals for the program are, and to hear what the best programs in the country are doing. I also never want to be in the position of having to defend my annual attendance at Midwest (that’s non-negotiable to me). Plus, I almost always get at least one free meal out of it.

It was a great meeting, very tough to cram into 90 minutes. Most of the time was centered around adjusting the rehearsal schedule, summer plans, new instrument purchases, maximizing our students’ Midwest experience, and finances. I knew going in that I was asking for a lot, but I left the meeting feeling that our needs would be met and every effort would be made to provide our wants as well.

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