Treasured Tips and Paying It Forward!
Clinic Synopsis:
Using a panel format, the presenters will share treasured teaching tips that they have learned from master music educators and pass them along to today's colleagues and/or future teachers. Using a standard festival adjudication rubric, effective pedagogy strategies will be discussed related to the following three categories: tone quality, technique, and musicality.
Jon Gomez
- Biographical Information
Jon Gomez is a National
Educational Consultant and Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Division of Education.
He provides services as an educator, conductor, clinician, presenter, and
adjudicator for several organizations, including Bands of America. Gomez received
a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Master’s degree in Education Administration
from Arizona State University. He currently serves as the Conductor of the
Arizona Wind Symphony. Until 2016, he served as Director of Bands and
Department Chair for the Performing Arts at Dobson High School in Mesa,
Arizona. Previously, he served as Director of Bands at Coronado High School and
as District Team Leader for Bands in the Scottsdale Unified Schools. Jon’s
programs have earned numerous accolades and have presented notable
performances, including the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China, four
invitations to the Music For All National Concert Band Festival, Carnegie Hall,
and five performances at the Arizona Music Educators Conference. He also
performed with the Tempe Wind Ensemble at The Midwest Clinic in 1995. Gomez
currently serves on The Midwest Clinic Advisory Committee. In past years, he
served in numerous capacities, including the ABODA Board and the Country Music
Association Music Teacher of Excellence Selection Committee. Jon is a Charter
Member of the Kappa Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu. He is also the Recipient of
the Arizona State University School of Music Alumni Award and the AMEA O.M.
Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award.
Richard Saucedo - Biographical Information
Richard Saucedo retired in 2013 as Band Director and Department Chairman at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. During his tenure, his bands received impressive honors in concert band, jazz band, and marching band. Carmel’s Wind Symphony I performed at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 1992, 1999, and 2004. They were named the Indiana State Champion Concert Band most recently in 2013 and the Marching Band was the Indiana Class A State Champion on four occasions. The Carmel Marching Greyhounds finished in the top ten at the BOA Grand National Championships for 17 years under Saucedo and were named National Champions in 2005. That same year, Carmel became one of very few schools to win a BOA National Championship and perform at The Midwest Clinic.
The Indiana Bandmasters Association named Saucedo Indiana’s Bandmaster of the Year for 1998-99 and Indiana’s Outstanding Music Educator for 2010 by the Indiana Music Educators Association. He was inducted into the Music for All Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2022.
Mr. Saucedo is a freelance arranger and composer for marching band, concert band, choir, and orchestra. He is on the writing staff at Hal Leonard Publishing, the Music Ensemble Coordinator for the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Brass Arranger/Composer for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Saucedo serves as an Senior Educational Consultant for Music for All and Bands of America, a Senior Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Division of Education, and Chief Judge for BOA marching band events.
Erin Cole Steele - Biographical Information
Erin Cole Steele is the Director of the Division of Education and a Senior Clinician for Conn Selmer. She was the Band Director at Tapp Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia (1995-2017) where she was named Teacher of the Year. The Tapp Band received numerous accolades including performing at the 58th Midwest Clinic. Erin commissioned four works including Robert W. Smith's The Great Locomotive Chase, Frank Ticheli's Simple Gifts-Four Shaker Songs, Samuel R. Hazo’s Ascend, and in the consortium commissioning Eric Whitacre's The Seal Lullaby. Erin is a contributing editor for Hal Leonard’s Essential Elements for Band. She has written for three editions of the GIA publication Teaching Music Through Performance and has contributed a chapter to Rehearsing the Middle School Band by Stephen Meyer. Erin is a conductor and speaker and has presented at the Midwest Clinic as well as state and international conferences. She has served as the conductor for All-State and regional honor bands, appearing in over 30 states. Erin served as the conductor for Youth Bands of Atlanta, 2011-2017. She was the founder and administrator of the Cobb County Summer Band Camp, Georgia. She has served as a clinician for the Music for All Summer Symposium and is currently the Executive Director for The Conn Selmer Institute.
Her professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, Sigma Alpha Iota, and the National Band Association from whom she was awarded the Citation of Excellence in 2015, 2008, and 2003.
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