Moving On (Part 1 of 2)

By now, most of you know that I have accepted a position as Instructor of Percussion at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. This is a very exciting time for my wife and me, and I feel incredibly blessed and undeserving of such an opportunity. However, as we step into the new and exciting, we leave behind family, friends, and jobs that mean a great deal to us. In particular, my job and experiences at Center Grove High School will be missed dearly. 

Fresh out of grad school in 2010, I moved to Greenwood, Indiana, with nothing more than a part-time job as a "pit tech" at Center Grove H.S. to count on (other than a couple writing gigs elsewhere). But by God's grace, and in his awesome plan, my three years at Center Grove turns out to be far more than I ever expected, and shaped me and prepared me for what's ahead more than I ever could have imagined. Here are a few highlights and reasons why my time at CG will hold a very special place in my memory for many years to come.

Midwest Clinic 2010

Shortly before I started at CG, their concert percussion ensemble had earned a prestigious invitation to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Josh Torres, the percussion director, not only invited me to help prepare the group, but commissioned me to write a new piece for his ensemble. Alarm! was born that fall, and in December, we took a 3-day journey to Chicago to not only perform at the convention, but enjoy Giordano's Pizza, take a trip to the top of the Willis Tower, and see the brilliant and hilarious Blue Man Group. The performance was astounding (I don't remember how many times I heard "I can't believe those are high schoolers!"), and it was just the beginning of what I would get to be a part of at Center Grove.

(L-R): Kevin Bobo, David Reeves, Jim Casella, Josh Torres, me

CG Staff takes things seriously: Torres, me, Blue Man, Sarah (my wife), Chris Hodgson, Jason Hammond-Wood

Slither - WGI 2011

My first non-spectator WGI experience set the bar pretty high. Coming from a 15th place finish (out of 15) the year before, the 2011 group pushed hard to the finish and moved from 5th in prelims to a bronze medal finish at world finals in Percussion Scholastic World class (the top class for high school ensembles). I had no idea that they did a "medal ceremony" of sorts at WGI, so when one staff member started heading to the floor after they announced Center Grove, I thought, "What is he doing?" But I followed and quickly realized we got to place the medals on the students necks, and honor their hard work and achievement before several thousand spectators. What a memory!

2011 Center Grove Indoor Percussion - WGI Bronze Medalists

PASIC 2011

Just 6 months after performing at the Midwest Clinic, and 2 months after a 3rd place finish at WGI, we found out that the Center Grove percussion ensemble had won the PAS high school percussion ensemble competition, earning an invitation to perform at PASIC in November. Once again, Mr. Torres asked me for a piece for the ensemble to play, and I happily obliged with Scenes from the Woods. The ensemble started right away on preparation for the concert, and I got to help prepare the quartet playing my piece. Keep in mind these students did this during marching band season (which is not small thing in Indiana, or at Center Grove). A preview performance put on with Texas Christian University took place on Wednesday, followed by the marching band's BOA prelims performance on Thursday, followed by the PASIC performance on Friday. Again, even I, who saw and worked with the students almost daily, was blown away with their performance. 11/11/11 will always be remembered as a special day.

Scenes from the Woods quartet at PASIC (L-R): Hunter Haskell, Ian Nickum, Abby Hermesch, Eric Baysinger

Super Bowl XLVI

Josh Torres got a call asking him to put together a 100-member drumline to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show with Madonna. Good thing I know people. People like Josh Torres. The first people he went to begin building a drumline were his staff. So I had a spot. Along with nearly all the CG percussion students (it's really fun to get to perform with your students!) I also got to perform at the pre-game during the National Anthem, sung by Kelly Clarkson. There were a LOT of hours put in, and it was not a paying gig, but what an experience! Pretty sure that's truly a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing! (Read more about it here.)

General Awesomeness

There are so many experiences and people I could talk about, too many to name here, but I will at least mention a few more briefly. I went to 3 WGI World Championships with Center Grove, 3 BOA Grand National Championships (twice to Finals), won an IPA State Championship, performed as a featured artist at the CG Night of Percussion (and twice in supporting roles), played in the Indianapolis Colts Drumline (with all CG staff & alumni), and worked with some of the best teachers in the activity.

Snare Drummer Turned Pit Tech

Before teaching at Center Grove, I had never taught a front ensemble exclusively. I marched snare drum in drum corps, was a drum corps snare tech for 3 years, and worked primarily with batteries (drumlines) at the high schools I taught at. But the past three years as a pit "tech" (I don't care much for that word…) have been a huge positive for my development as a percussionist and as a teacher. Working with concert percussion (yes, I treat a front ensemble as concert percussion) every day is more transferrable to teaching at the college level, and it filled in a gap in my teaching abilities since I had not previously taught a pit. 

Learning from a Pro

As I mentioned, Center Grove employs some of the best in the business when it comes to music and percussion. I have had the privilege of watching Josh Torres run one of the premier percussion programs in the country, from 6th grade beginners to music-school-ready seniors. Learning the ins and outs of organization, curriculum design, and percussion ensemble repertoire, I've had the chance to be increasingly involved in a well-rounded program that asks a great deal from its students. This has been unquestionably critical in preparing me to teach at a university.

Thank You

If you are a student, parent, staff member, or supporter of any kind of the Center Grove music/band/percussion program, you have played a role in shaping me and my last three years in Greenwood. There have been the inevitable hard times, those days when I didn't really want to go teach a rehearsal or lesson, but when I take a look back at everything I've had the past three years, I realize how lucky I've been. It's time to move on to something different, but I will not forget the journey that led me to my next chapter.  Thanks, CG.

Next: Moving On (Part 2 of 2)