Beyond the Measure: A Podcast for Music Educators

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Darcy Radcliffe, former orchestra director at Abilene and Cooper High Schools, created a new type of string orchestra ensemble called Revolution Strings. After experiencing many incredible successes with the group, she has joined us on this week's episode to give insight as to how she created it, what steps she took to generate interest, and how other music directors can find creative new ways to increase interest in performing music.
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revostrings/
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Darcy Radcliffe maintains a Private Violin/Viola Studio and is the creator of the internationally acclaimed fiddle group, "Revolution Strings" which has been featured on the National Public Radio show "From the Top.” She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Hardin Simmons University where she studied with Ms. Celeste Myall. Mrs. Radcliffe is the recipient of several awards including the 2006 winner of the American String Teachers Association's (ASTA) Marjorie Keller Young Teacher of the Year Award in recognition of outstanding promise in string education, 2011 Teacher of the Year through the Abilene Spotlight on Education program, 2012 Most Outstanding Faculty Member and Ring of Honor recipient for Cooper HS, 2014 recipient of the Top 20 under 40 leaders for the city of Abilene. In 2017 her work as an educator was featured in the eleventh annual publication of Texas School Business ‘Bragging Rights’ magazine.

Mrs. Radcliffe also serves as a clinician and an adjudicator for orchestras in the state of Texas and has been an active member of the Texas Music Adjudicator’s Association. Mrs. Radcliffe was offered an ongoing endorsement from the D’Addario music company for her fiddle group, Revolution Strings. Revolution Strings has performed at several conventions including the American String Teachers Association national conference, the National Association of Secondary School Principals conference, the Texas Music Educators Association convention and the National Association of School Boards convention, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development of Texas conference, and the Texas Music Administrators Conference. They have also performed with Grammy award winning artists such as Mark and Maggie O’Connor, David Ragsdale of Kansas, Barrage, Asleep at the Wheel, Riders in the Sky, Mark Preston of the Lettermen, The Quebe Sisters Band, Gary Morris, Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas and The Hot Club of Cowtown and Christian How

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Mr. Bill Harden, director of bands at Hardin-Simmons University, tells us about the many different people that made an impact on his career and made it possible for him to be where he is today. We discuss the importance of maintaining relationships with the people around us and how we can use those relationships as an opportunity to learn and grow.
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Find out more about the "World Famous" Cowboy Band:
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Mr. Bill Harden graduated from Hardin-Simmons in 1986 with a Bachelors in Music Education and continued his education at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music earning the Master of Music in Bassoon Performance degree in 1988.

Prior to coming to HSU, he taught for 30 years in Odessa, Texas including two years as an Assistant Band Director at Odessa High School and eight years as the Band Director at Bowie Junior High School. The final twenty years, he was the Director of Bands at Odessa High School where his bands earned consistent sweepstakes awards in UIL Marching Contest and Concert and Sight Reading Evaluations. He also led the band on trips to New York City, Washington D.C., Orlando, Chicago, St Louis, and Hawaii, and in 2004, marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. He also served for one year as the Orchestra Director at OHS and received the sweepstakes award at Concert and Sight Reading Evaluation, the first for the students in the program.

In addition to his duties at OHS, Mr. Harden also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he taught conducting and Secondary Music Education methods. He has also played Assistant Principal Bassoon in the Midland-Odessa Symphony for 29 years and served as Principal in the 1996-97 season. In 1997, he presented a clinic entitled “Teaching the Intermediate Bassoon Player” at the TBA Summer conference.

In 2013, Mr. Harden received the Marcia McEntyre Zoffutto Hero Award for his dedication to the students in the Permian Basin. Named for the daughter of JR McEntyre, herself an award-winning Music Educator, the award is given to music educators in the Permian Basin who have devoted extensive time and energy into helping a music education program in west Texas.

Mr. Harden holds membership in the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Texas Music Adjudicators Association and Phi Beta Mu, International Band Fraternity. He helped found YES West Texas and Big Country Y.E.S. (Young Educators Symposium), a series of professional development opportunities for young music educators and for the young at heart!
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In this episode, Dr. Bernard Scherr, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University, joins us to discuss a variety of topics including how to recruit for your ensemble, advice for young composers in the classroom, the fundamentals of music literacy, and how to integrate music theory into your rehearsals.
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Check out Dr. Scherr's website:
https://berniescherrcomposer.com/
Dr. Bernard Scherr’s composition catalog includes over 100 works for orchestra, orchestra and chorus, orchestra and soloist, solo voice, chorus, wind ensemble, and various chamber ensembles.

Scherr’s orchestral works have been performed in California, Texas, and Europe, and he has received a number of commissions from professional and university ensembles. His chamber music is regularly performed across the United States, and he has a growing European presence.

The recipient of several awards at the University of Oregon, including the University of Oregon’s 125th Anniversary Composition Commission competition, Scherr’s music has been recognized in competitions in Boston, Pennsylvania, and the Waging Peace through Singing Project in Oregon.

Committed to the performance of new music, Scherr has premiered numerous works with the Oregon Composers Forum Concert Series and the Key City Brass Quintet.

His book Organ Preludes is published by Zimbel Press and “Victimae Paschali Laudes” for orchestra is recorded on the VMM label.
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In this episode, Abigail Payne, Executive Director of Chorus Abilene, joins us to discuss the necessity of collaboration within ensembles, schools, and the community. We also talk about doing what's necessary vs. what you want, and how to use circumstantial constrictions as an opportunity for creativity.
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For more info about Chorus Abilene, contact:
[email protected]
(325) 675-SING
or check them out online!
Website: https://chorusabilene.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChorusAbileneTX/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chorusabilene/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/chorusabilene
Abigail is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she earned a Masters of Music in Collaborative Piano as a student of Allison Gagnon. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Piano from Abilene Christian University and also studied with pianist/coach Dale Fundling of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

As an active pianist, Abigail has been a performing participant at the Vancouver International Song Institute and has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in masterclasses with distinguished musicians such as Thomas Pasatieri, Rachel Barton-Pine, Aldo Mancinelli, Cameron Stowe, Lee Thompson, Lenora Eve, Eugenia Grunwald, Mary Saunders-Barton, Anton Nel, Rudolf Rudnynstky, and Joyce Farwell. She has a passion for opera and has been a pianist/coach and musical director for Opera Breve, Red River Lyric, and the Hardin-Simmons University opera program. She is currently the collaborative artist in residence for the Church of the Heavenly Rest Chamber Music Concert Series.

Abigail has a passion for arts education and young people and is particularly looking forward to reaching out to students in the Big Country and introducing them to the youth choruses of Chorus Abilene. While Abigail enjoys an active career as a professional musician and arts administator, she says her most important job is being mother to her daughter, Josephine.
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For music educators, the constant task of having to observe, evaluate, and improve is imperative for having a successful experience for students. However, this habit, paired with the overwhelming amount of tasks needed to be done each week can lead to huge amounts of stress. In this episode, Dr. Jon Kraemer, Head Band Director at Abilene High School, joins us to discuss how band directors handle the extensive planning process required from season to season while maintaining a healthy mindset.
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Connect with the Abilene High School Band!
Website: http://www.eagleband.com/
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Dr. Kraemer began teaching in 2006. A native of the DFW metroplex, he graduated from Waxahachie HS in 1998. He went on to East Texas Baptist University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 2002, and then to Texas Tech University where he earned both a Master's of Conducting in 2004, and a Ph.D. in Fine Arts: Musicology in 2009. Dr. Kraemer is now in his 16th year teaching. Prior to coming to Abilene, Dr. Kraemer was the Director of Bands for Pampa ISD for 3 years and the Director of Bands at Roosevelt ISD for 7 years before that. Dr. Kraemer was an Assistant Director at Abilene High during the 2017-18 school year before assuming the role of Director of Bands at AHS. Dr. Kraemer’s specialty is brass with an emphasis in Trumpet. Dr. Kraemer is also a member of the adjunct teaching faculty of the Hardin-Simmons University College of Fine Arts. Dr. Kraemer and his wife are co-authors of the book, “The Band Director’s Guide to Success”, a 2016 Oxford University Press publication. Dr. Kraemer’s family includes his wife, Michelle, and their three children.

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