Skip to main content

Time:

Thursday
December, 16, 2021
02:45 PM - 03:45 PM

Location:

W 179

Clinician(s)

Amy Heavilin

Amy Heavilin

Aaron Burkhart

Aaron Burkhart

The Rural and Urban School Venn Diagram

Clinic Synopsis:

This session will explore the unique challenges that rural and urban school districts face and strategies to create sustained success. We will explore the rewarding opportunities within rural and urban districts, and what we can learn from each other. All students, regardless of background, deserve the highest quality of music education. Through collaboration, creativity, and advocacy, teachers from all communities can create a program that uses your school's uniqueness to foster success..

Amy Heavilin - Biographical Information

Amy Heavilin is in her twenty-first year of teaching, and is currently the Director of Bands at Indian Creek High School in Trafalgar, Indiana (Indianapolis), where she directs all the High School band ensembles, AP Music Theory, Special Education General Music, and team teaches Beginning Band. She is an Event Coordination Consultant for United Sound, and is a member of the Indiana Music Education Association, where she has served on the Board of Directors as an Area Representative. She is also a member of NAfME and the Indiana Bandmasters Association. Amy is both a Life Member and Honorary Member of Kappa Kappa Psi and an Honorary Member of Tau Beta Sigma, and currently serves as the coordinator for the North Central District Intercollegiate Band for those organizations. Kappa Kappa Psi awarded her the A. Frank Martin Award in 2018, and the Hugh McMillen Award in 2019 for Service to College Band Members . Amy earned her Undergraduate Degree in Music Education from The University of Akron, and her Masters Degree in Conducting from Butler University. She has a passion for ensuring that every student has a right to a quality experience in band - not just students in Special Education, but for students in schools where teacher turnover is often high: rural and urban schools, and has presented workshops at conferences and universities to encourage young teachers to build careers in these communities. When she’s not teaching, she is passionate about historic preservation, restoring her 1902 Queen Anne Victorian house with her husband Doug and their two dogs.

Aaron Burkhart - Biographical Information

Aaron Burkhart serves as Director of Bands and Co-Performing Arts Department Chair at Pike High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has held similar positions at Lincoln Middle School (2012-2015) and Eastern Greene Schools (2006-2010). In his current role at Pike High School, Mr. Burkhart oversees every aspect of the Instrumental Music and Dance program and serves as principal director for the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble 1, and Pit Orchestra. He also teaches AP Music Theory, IB Music, and assistant directs the Freshman Band, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, and Pep Band. Ensembles under the direction of Mr. Burkhart have received consistent Gold Ratings at ISSMA events and are active performers in the Pike community. Mr. Burkhart maintains an active schedule as a performer, guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician including events with ISSMA, IBA, and IMEA. He has also been named the Indiana Music Educator of the Year by the New World Youth Orchestras (2017) and has been honored as a Pike Township Top 30 Influential Educator (2018, 2019, 2020). His professional memberships include IBA, JEN, IJEA, IMEA, and NAfME. Aaron Burkhart earned his Bachelor of Music Education-Instrumental in 2006 and his Master of Music in Wind Conducting in 2012—both from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Aaron’s wife Dr. Nora Burkhart is a pharmacist with Express Scripts and a community theatre actress. They have three daughters: Rebecca, Cecilia, and Eliza.

Back