Hello, my name is Shannon Waldo, and I am a Regional Representative for Practicing Musician’s Professional Development Roundtable. 

This past year has been tough for educators, especially those of us in music performance. I initially discovered Practicing Musician while searching for free, quality, digital resources for my beginning band in preparation for distance learning.  While my school remained in person, I realized the potential for Practicing Musician as an incredible extension of my daily curriculum. The lessons and assessments are an amazing tool to help my students individually.  There are lesson plan templates, rubrics, critical thinking assessments as well as the video tutorials and music etudes.  I was on board from the first day of discovery and volunteered to help as a content manager and then transitioned in the regional representative role.

I am looking forward to this summer’s Symposium on July 22.  We are offering presentations by educators at the top of the field:  Dr. Bret Smith (Professor of Music Education at Central Washington University), Katie Wardrobe (Music technology trainer and consultant) and Dr. Frederick Burrack (Director of Assessment at Kansas State University). The symposium will also include breakout sessions with more information on how to use and integrate Practicing Musician into your classroom.

I look forward to working with you this summer during the symposium and in the future as we work to create equity in music education.