By Tom Palmatier, SBO+ Editor-in-Chief
I’m writing this instead of listening to the never-ending drumbeat of bad news coming out of my television. Instead, I want to share several instances where over the last month or so, I saw great things happening in our little world of music and music education.
Last month, I shared with you the tragedy of a school shooting in our small mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado. The high school was closed for several weeks but the marching band boosters moved all their equipment to a nearby middle school and even though school was closed, the marching band continued to rehearse and even competed in the regional competition. That’s resilience!
In the July 2025 issue of SBO+ featuring an article about bringing harmony to the classroom, I reflected on my failure to do just that while teaching a very challenging middle school band. Well, my day of reckoning came recently when I was asked to teach there again. But this time, I was determined to bring positivity to the classroom (whether they wanted it or not!). Here’s a shocker – things went better. So, if you find yourself not at your best or “losing it” with a rowdy class, don’t despair. They will still be there tomorrow, and you can try something different.
Episode three of our good news series occurred in Melbourne, Florida. I was invited to do a clinic/concert with the Melbourne Municipal Band where we would rehearse for eight hours and then put on a concert the next day. Eight hours! This is a typical community band with a variety of skill levels and a very wide age range, and eight hours is a lot for any ensemble. At the first run-through it was apparent they had really practiced their parts and as the rehearsals went on, not only did they get better and better, but high-level music making emerged and blossomed. Congratulations and thank you to this wonderful group of musicians!
Episode four is watching a promising non-profit organization get off the ground with an incredible group of volunteer music educators to guide it. I was invited to join the Board of Directors of The Music Teacher Guild and look forward to collaborating with these incredible people to improve professional development for all music teachers.
In this issue, we are giving you a preview of the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic. If you’ve never been, it’s an incredible professional development event. At Midwest, we’ll be presenting many of our Teachers’ Choice Awards. Voting closes on December 1st so make your voice heard. As they supposedly say in Chicago, vote now and vote often! Visit SBOplus.net to vote and to explore our huge archive of articles.
