Tag Archives: Music Teachers

Stephen A. Howard to lead “Marching Stars” in Macy’s Parade

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Stephen A. Howard, Director of Bands for the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, Texas, will lead his “Marching Stars” in the 2021 Thanksgiving Day Parade. Photo credit: the Ann Richards School.

Like many people, I make it a tradition to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day. The parade will make a triumphant return this year, after having been cancelled last year due to the pandemic. For me, one of the highlights of the annual event is watching the young people from all over the country as they perform in a variety of high school marching bands. This year, the marching band from Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, Texas, under the leadership of Stephen A. Howard will perform in the parade.

The Ann Richards School is a public all-girls school in the Austin Independent School District that serves grades 6-12. The school’s “Marching Stars” are the nation’s only all-female Marching Band. Under Stephen’s leadership, the Marching Stars have been named a Bands Of  America (B)A) Regional Class Champion four times. In addition, the Ann Richards Color Guard program has earned accolades in the Texas Color Guard Circuit, including being named the 2017 Scholastic Novice Champion, the 2018 Scholastic Regional A Bronze Medalist, and the 2019 Scholastic AA Silver Medalist.

Prior to working at the Ann Richards School, Stephen was an Associate Director of Bands at James Bowie High School in Austin, Texas. At Bowie, he earned Division 1 ratings with the Freshman Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, and Wind Ensembles 2 and 3. The Bowie High School Outdoor Performing Ensemble also garnered success during Stephen’s tenure, being named a UIL 5A State Finalist in 2008, 2010, and 2012, a Grand National Finalist in 2009 and 2012, and a consistent BOA Regional Class Champion and Super Regional Finalist. His Winter Guards competed at the Texas Color Guard Circuit State Championships, where both the JV and Varsity teams were named class champions in 2014. The Varsity team went on to appear in the Scholastic Open Class Finals at the WGI World Championships.

For his work with young musicians, Stephen has earned many impressive honors. In 2015, he was awarded the Randy Julia Service Award from TCGC. In 2018, Mr. Howard was recognized as an Educator of Excellence by the Young Women’s Preparatory Network. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, and is an active adjudicator in the Marching Band and Winter Guard world. He is a past President of the Texas Color Guard Circuit.

Stephen is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music from Radford University in Radford, Virginia, where he concentrated in both Instrumental and Vocal Music Education. He earned his Master’s degree in Music from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he studied Instrumental Conducting.

Justin Johnson named Illinois’ 2021 Teacher of the Year

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Music educator Justin Johnson from Skokie, Illinois, has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Niles Township High School.

It is always exciting when talented educators are recognized for their work in the classroom. One of these is Justin Johnson, a music teacher from Skokie, Illinois, who has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Currently, Justin serves as the Director of Bands at Niles West High School in Skokie. There he has a reputation for being a kind, caring role model who always has the students’ best interests in mind, says Dr. Karen Ritter, Principal of Niles West. “Mr. Johnson is everything the Teacher of the Year Award represents,” she asserted. “He is an intense instructor who is so in tune with his students and their needs and brings them all together in an ensemble setting,” she continued. “When I visited Mr. Johnson’s classroom last year, I felt that I could spend the whole day there. I would have loved to have had a teacher like Justin Johnson,” she concluded.

In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Justin has served on several nationally recognized ensembles, including the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, a position he held for over a decade and the US Army All-American Marching Band. He has adjudicated and coordinated clinics for concert ensembles, marching bands, indoor drumlines, winter guards, and jazz ensembles throughout the country. He is also an active member of the Illinois Music Education Association and the National Association for Music Education.

For his work in the classroom, Justin has earned many accolades. In addition to the 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year, he was named a finalist for the Golden Apple Award in 2016 and a Teacher of Distinction the same year. In 2020,  he garnered Niles West High School’s Zemsky Teacher of the Year Award.

Justin earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his Master’s degree in Music Education from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.

 

Indiana’s Becky Muncy teaches character education through music

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Elementary school music educator Becky Muncy of Bedford, Indiana, teaches her students character education through music. Photo credit: Becky Muncy

Many talented educators teach important concepts and life skills to their students through music. One of these is Becky Muncy, an elementary school music teacher from the North Lawrence Community School District in Bedford, Indiana. She has earned a stellar reputation through teaching character education through music.

Becky teaches character education through her CD entitled Blueprints for Life,  produced by Matt Wilder in Nashville, Tennessee. The creative effort garnered Becky a Children’s Music Web Award in 2005. In addition to her creative efforts, Becky has served as a coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) for the past seven years.

In her classroom, Becky uses puppet characters, songs, and other materials that work with children preschool through 5th grade. “The music and materials are kid tested and kid approved!” declares Becky. The honored educator says it has taken her over 40 years to develop the instructional materials for her curriculum.

The honored educator encourages her fellow educators to develop creative outlets for their students as well. “Look at what opportunities do exist in your school and community. Build on those things. You will be amazed at what doors open if you just look around,” Becky says. “Is it hard work – yes! Is it worth it – yes!” she declares. “You will find if you are doing what you love-teaching children, putting 100% into it, that will make it all worthwhile,” she concludes.

To learn more about this talented educator, see her website at www.beckymuncie.com.

Nevada’s Nicolas Jacques earns 2019 Milliken Award

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Music educator Nicolas Jacques of Carson City, Nevada, finally received his 2019 Milliken Award last month. The bestowal of the award was delayed because of Covid-19. Photo credit: Nicolas Jacques.

For Nicolas Jacques, an outstanding music educator in Carson City, Nevada, long-overdue recognition has finally been awarded. Last month, he finally received the Milliken Award he had earned in 2019. The bestowal of the award has been delayed all this time because of Covid-19.

Nicolas teaches concert, marching, and jazz band. At the time he earned his award, he was employed at Carson Middle School. Currently he teaches at Carson High School. In all, his career as an educator in Carson City has spanned ten years.

The school’s jazz band, which was created by Nicolas in 2013, played annually at “Jazz in the Commons” and has performed at the Reno Jazz Festival and the Jazz in the Schools Clinic at University of Nevada in Reno. The concert bands routinely earn superior scores at the Washoe County and Northern Zone Band Festivals, and the groups have even performed at Disneyland. Students from Nicolas’s classes make up 60% of the Carson City Honor Band, and six of them were selected to play in the All-State Festival last year. In addition, Nicolas’s students excel in their academics, earning the highest scores at the school on statewide assessments.

An unhappy childhood led Nicolas to his career as an educator. “As an individual who was raised in an abusive and non-nurturing household, school was my safe place,” Nicolas reveals. “At school I had my friends, my teachers, my hobbies and a positive environment that kept me out of the house,” he continued. “My best class was band because it was something I enjoyed doing, I did it well, and it gave me a reason be away from home. It was a place where I could be myself, and I flourished,” he concluded.

In addition to his Milliken Award, Nicolas was a finalist for the Nevada Teacher of the Year honor in 2019. That same year he was recognized as the District Teacher of the Year. In addition, he was named a National Board Certified educator in 2018. He has also served as a Board Member of the Nevada Music Educators Association. Nicolas earned both his Bachelor’s degree and his Master’s degree at the University of Nevada, Reno.

To read more about Nicolas Jacques, see this article published by the Nevada Appeal.

Nellie Ramsey Leslie: Former slave, Freedman’s Bureau teacher

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Freedmen’s Bureau teacher Nellie Ramsey Leslie, a former slave, became a notable pianist, composer, and music educator. Photo credit: Public Domain.

There are many stories of remarkable educators in American history. One of them is the story of Nellie Ramsey Leslie, an emancipated slave who taught school for the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Nellie was born into slavery the 1840’s in Virginia. Once she was emancipated, she traveled north to Ohio, where she gained her education. She also attended the Normal School of Straight University in 1870-1871 to fine tune her instructional skills. The Normal School was founded by the American Missionary Association, which helped to prepare many teachers in the South to educate newly emancipated slaves and their children.

In late 1865, Nellie relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she became employed as an elementary school teacher for the Freedmen’s Bureau. She also taught in schools in Mississippi and Texas. In 1874, Nellie married Reverend R. A. Leslie, a Presbyterian minister and a Native American of the Creek Nation. In 1880, the couple moved to the Indian Territory, where Nellie taught in schools established to educate Creek Freedmen.

Over the course of her lifetime, Nellie established a reputation as a notable pianist, composer, and music educator. After her husband’s death in 1884, Nellie studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Later she relocated to Corpus Christi, Texas, where she  founded a music conservatory for girls.

By 1895, Nellie was employed as a teacher and the principal of the Tallahassee Mission in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where she served as the music director for a number of years. The school served children of the Creek Nation.

This remarkable educator passed away in Muskogee during the 1920’s. The exact date and year of her passing is unknown. To read more about her, consult Notable Negro Women, Their Triumphs and Activities, by Monroe A . Majors, published in 1971. This book can be accessed online at Notable Negro Women.