Midwest 2023 Recap
I closed out my travel for 2023 with a trip to the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. I haven’t been to Midwest since 2019, so it was great to catch up with friends, industry colleagues, former students, and teachers. I participated in a wonderful panel discussion that focused on life after teaching in a classroom. I shared the panel with some incredible educators, moderated by my good friend Walt Straiton. To be honest, even though this conference is amazing, I’m always a little reluctant to go because its so close to the holidays, Chicago in the winter often means travel woes, and by this time of year, I’m exhausted from all of the travel I do. That said, I had a wonderful time this year and look forward to coming back in the future.
If you’ve never been to Midwest and you conduct a band or orchestra of any age level, this is the best event to learn how to help your program reach its full potential. It’s also an incredible showcase of some of the most talented school ensembles from around the world who often perform to packed houses, as well as many military bands, small ensembles, and more. I’ve been coming to Midwest since the mid 1990’s - back when the technology companies were stuck in the basement of the Hilton. The new venue at McCormick Place is massive, and this year there were over 18,000 attendees.
Perhaps my favorite moment of all this year was reconnecting with one of the most brilliant young minds in our profession, Andrew Niess. Andrew worked as an intern for MusicFirst back in the early days, and was instrumental in creating content for the platform, specifically PracticeFirst. Andrew now has his PhD and is consulting with us on a number of projects. I had the absolute pleasure of dining with Andrew and his husband David, another brilliant mind in our field, at a fantastic restaurant called Indienne. It was such a treat to spend a few hours talking about all things music, technology, and education, and I am looking forward to working more with Andrew in the future. As Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser said yesterday at our panel discussion, success in this industry, or any industry, is the relationships that you build over your career. That’s what I’m taking away from this year’s Midwest. My biggest smiles during the show happened when I reconnected with former students, colleagues and friends.
I’m heading home this morning for a very much needed vacation. It’s been a LONG year. I’ll be back blogging at the beginning of January. I wish you all a very warm and wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy 2024! Thank you for being a part of this little community.
