Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • September 2013
5
great venue to provide for that kind of conversation and
professional growth.
I presume that if you are reading this that you may
also fit a profile similar to mine of the lifelong learner
and musical servant. I ask you to find one colleague
that you know hasn’t been attending our convention,
due to challenges we all face, and find a way to get
them to San Antonio. Sometimes we have to be
creative in our conversations with our colleagues about
troubleshooting the reasons for not attending. Sharing
ideas like ride sharing, hotel room sharing, meals
that are included like the BBQ and business meeting
luncheon, etc., are certainly how many of us ever got
to San Antonio at some point in our career.
How many professional organizations include
families in the annual planning for their conventions?
My family has always enjoyed coming with me to
the convention. While I’m in workshops they are
able to enjoy the family activities. Childcare for the
little ones is also included…what a deal! Sam Pugh,
a colleague of mine from Houston, and his family
scored big by winning “Family 4 Packs” of tickets to
Fiesta Texas AND Schlitterbahn-New Braunfels, at two
separate spouse and family events sponsored by TBA.
Additionally, I saw many colleagues with friends and
families enjoying the free river boat ride at the BBQ.
Who can beat that for total convention planning?
My challenge for you is to find that colleague
that you know could benefit from attending OUR
convention, and make sure they get there. My wife
Dena and I, along with our kids Brandon and Rebecca,
look forward to serving you and your families.
I would like to wish you the best
as you begin your school year! I
know you face unique challenges
in your job and that is part of what
makes the life of a band director
exciting! Never forget how great the
opportunity is for you to impact
so many student lives in a positive
way. Good luck this fall!
Many band directors visit our
TBA website to register for the
convention each year. In addition
to the information for each year’s
convention, did you know that
the TBA website is a
wealth of
free information and resources
designed to assist band directors?
Go to
www.texasbandmasters.org
,
click on the RESOURCES tab and
then open the PUBLICATION
ARCHIVES. There you will find
over 300 handouts from prior TBA
Convention/Clinics and well over
450 articles from the
Bandmasters
Review
, TBA’s quarterly publication.
Each of these archives has a search
engine allowing you to type in key
words to bring up
articles containing
information on the
topic. I urge you
to take advantage
of these handouts
and articles. They
are available as pdf
files and you are
welcome to print as
many copies as you
wish.
I hope Helen Blackburn’s flute
pedagogy article and the Michael
Reed/Scott Ward article on solving
timing problems with your
marching band will be valuable
information whether you are an
experienced teacher or a new
director starting this fall. Howmany
of us deal daily with students who
do not care…Frank Kick offers great
advice. Dr. Tim discusses how to
embrace competition
in a healthy way for
students and Randy
Gilmore reminds
us how we impact
everyone around us.
One of the most out-
standing attributes of
successful teachers is
a willingness to share
information with
colleagues. That is a large part of
what makes Texas bands so great!
Do not hesitate to contact me if you
would like to submit an article for
the
Bandmasters Review
.
Good luck this fall…..take time
to enjoy something EVERY DAY as
you teach your band students!
TBA - A Wealth of Resources
Michael Brashear, TBA Execut ive Director