Secrets of a Great Band Director, with Janis Stockhouse

<p>In this Patreon-funded special episode, Kirk sits down with his former high school band director Janis Stockhouse to talk about her life as a music educator.</p> <p>Janis started teaching at North high school in Bloomington, Indiana, in the early 1980s. It was a time when "jazz education" as a concept was still a relatively new thing. She retired 38 years later, having grown the North band program into a well-known Midwest institution, winning countless awards at festivals around the world and regularly turning out graduates who would go on to become professional musicians, as well as many others who would simply have a lifelong love of music.</p> <p>On this episode she tells the story of starting out at North and developing the program, along with her thoughts on how to get students to practice, which composers she prefers for student groups, women in jazz, funding for the arts, and some good old-fashioned album recommendations.</p> <p><strong>REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE:</strong></p> <p>Janis's 2004 book <a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Jazzwomen-Conversations-Twenty-One-Stockhouse-2004-05-25/dp/B012YSDPCK?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffab-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B012YSDPCK"> <em>Jazzwomen: Conversations With Twenty-One Musicians</em></a>, which she co-wrote with Wayne Enstice - there are used copies on Amazon, and you should really track down a copy and read it</p> <p>The late great jazz legend David Baker, whose NYT obituary captured at least some of his legacy: <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/arts/music/david-baker-who-helped-bring-jazz-studies-into-the-academy-dies-at-84.html"> https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/arts/music/david-baker-who-helped-bring-jazz-studies-into-the-academy-dies-at-84.html</a></p> <p><strong>MUSIC ON THIS EPISODE:</strong></p> <ul> <li>"IU Swing Machine" by David Baker as played by <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11PZ5jjcsw">the 2016 IU Celebration Big Band</a></li> <li>"Don't Get Sassy" by the Thad Jones/