Redefining Rehearsal: a student-centric approach to what, why, and how we teach
Clinic Synopsis:
In our current educational climate of competitions, festivals, and performance-oriented goals, it becomes commonplace to put emphasis on the product rather than the process. By shifting our focus away from awards and towards student development, we promote an engaging classroom which emphasizes community, accountability, and musicality. This presentation will provide changes to our rehearsal mindset and strategies, which will help create an environment conducive to personal and musical growth.
Michael Stern
- Biographical Information
A multifaceted musician, Michael Stern is recognized for his diverse skill set as both a performer and educator. Previously serving as the pianist and Director of Contemporary Music at Christ Chapel in Ithaca, NY, he has accompanied honor choirs throughout New York. Additionally, Michael spent a majority of his academic career studying the trumpet, holding a BM in Music Education & Trumpet Performance from Ithaca College and MM degrees from the University of Michigan in Trumpet Performance and Chamber Music. While at the University of Michigan, Michael was invited to pursue a performance cognate in wind conducting with Michael Haithcock. This led to additional opportunities, including his completion of an additional MM in Orchestral Conducting at Ithaca College with Grant Cooper. Michael was formerly co-director of the Cornell Open Orchestra and has guest conducted the Cornell University Symphony Orchestra and Ithaca Community Orchestra. In 2022, Michael attended the National Orchestral Institute + Festival to study conducting with Marin Alsop and Jim Ross. Recently, Michael was awarded an appointment to serve as a conductor in the United States Air Force Bands, which he will defer until the completion of his DMA in Orchestral Conducting at George Mason University with Dr. Soo Han. Concurrently, Michael serves as the Music Director of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in Takoma Park, MD. Michael is passionate about music education and hopes to use his abilities as a conductor to create an energetic, focused, and disciplined approach to developing life skills through music.
Soo Han - Biographical Information
Dr. Soo Han is the Director of Orchestral Studies at George Mason University’s Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music in Fairfax, Virginia; Music Director of the Elkhart County Symphony in Indiana; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is a composer and arranger with Hal Leonard, and is also a contributing editor for Essential Elements for Strings.
As an active conductor, Dr. Han has appeared with numerous professional and university orchestras. He is a frequent conductor for all-state, regional, and honor orchestras, appearing in more than 30 states, and has conducted ensembles in Australia, Austria, China, and Thailand.
Dr. Han is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, and co-author, contributor, and managing editor for Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, Vol. 4, one of the leading orchestra pedagogical resources published by GIA. Having taught in the public schools for fifteen years, he is a passionate supporter of school music programs, and continues to remain active in instrumental classrooms throughout the country.
Soo grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and now resides in Arlington, Virginia, where he has a beautiful view of the monuments of Washington, D.C. He enjoys distance running, eating amazing food, and traveling near and far with his partner, Gregory, and his faithful canine companion, Lenny.
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