This clinic presents a "top ten" for pre-service music educators preparing for their first job in the classroom as an instrumental music instructor. After a combined 40 years of experience, and the responses from 50 reputable band directors, the "top ten" list was generated to encourage and assist college students to focus their learning and skillset before entering the profession.
Jim Daughters
- Biographical Information
Dr. Jim Daughters is the Director of Bands at Southeast
Missouri State University and serves as the conductor the Cincinnati Wind Band,
in Cincinnati, OH. Jim’s primary responsibilities at SEMO include the direction
and administration of the 200-member university band program, and he teaches
courses in instrumental conducting and music education. Jim was previously a
faculty member at Arkansas Tech University, adjunct faculty at the University
of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and has a successful 15-year
career as a band director in Kentucky. Ensembles under Daughters’ direction
have earned recognition through invited performances to The Midwest Clinic,
Music for All National Concert Band Festival, Jazz Educators Network
Conference, National Middle School Conference, Missouri Music Educators
Association Conference, Kentucky Music Educators Association Conferences, and
Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conferences. He has
received Teacher of the Year honors from the Kentucky Music Educators
Association District 6, Conner Middle School, and he was twice recognized as a
Teacher Who Made a Difference by the University of Kentucky. In 2024, Jim
received the SEMO Provost Award for Teaching Excellence and Student Recruiting,
and he was selected as a 2024 Southeast Missouri “Difference Maker” by B
Magazine and the Southeast Missourian Newspaper.
Corey Seapy is a dynamic conductor and educator who has spent the last sixteen years maximizing the artistic potential of a wide variety of ensembles. He serves as Director of Bands at the University of Central Missouri, where he leads the Wind Ensemble, teaches courses in conducting and music education, and oversees the band program. Prior to arriving at UCM, he served as Director of Bands at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. He is an active guest conductor and clinician, a Third Place recipient of the American Prize in Conducting, and a new music advocate who has led many world premieres, including recent works by Juan Pablo Contreras and Derek Jenkins.
Prior to living in the Midwest, Dr. Seapy conducted and taught in Massachusetts, where he served as Music Director of the Charles River Wind Ensemble and Director of Bands at Ipswich High School. He holds conducting degrees from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory (MO) and Ithaca College (NY), and a degree in Music Education from Gordon College (MA). Dr. Seapy lives in Lee’s Summit, MO, where he spends most of his free time chasing a toddler.