http://www.randallstandridge.com/

Randall D. Standridge, Composer/Marching Arts Designer, Jonesboro, AR (2025)

03/12/2025

SO, I WENT ON A STAR TREK CRUISE…

1. It’s 2024 and I’m trying to find Steve the perfect birthday gift. He’s a big Star Trek fan, but I’m starting to run short on ideas having already gotten him several pajamas, toy sets, and books on the theme. Just last Christmas, I actually found a book of Star Trek music for trombone, his instrument.

As I am looking online for ideas, I come across an entry that catches my attention.

“STAR TREK CRUISE VIII: The Un-Conventional Voyage.”

Steve and I both love cruises and it had been a while since we have gotten to take a vacation given how much our responsibilities have increased with the business, so I smile and bookmark the page. Two days later, I purchase us a room for the cruise.

2. We are standing in line at the terminal in Miami, Florida, waiting to get on the ship. There are hundreds of people in line, most dressed in some type of Star Trek T-shirt, and some with vulcan ears. We even spy one with andorian antennae. Some cast members from the various shows have started to arrive, each greeted with an enthusiastic cheer from the gathering crowd.

We’ve been up since 3:00am central time to fly in that morning, and I am very tired. This is why it takes me a moment to notice something about all of the people.

There are no kids. Not one that I can spot, anyway.

I ask the person in front of us about this.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “This cruise is 14 and up.”

I can already tell I’m going to like this cruise very much.

3. We are exploring the ship prior to debarkation, and both Steve and I are delighted to find that they have overlayed a lot of the decorations on the ship with various Star Trek characters and locations.

The Schoonover Bar has becomeme “Gorn’s Bar.” Giovanni’s Table has become “Pike’s Kitchen.” The casino has posters and cardboard standups of Quark, the Ferengi from DS9, everywhere. Even the elevators have been made to look like the turbo lifts on a federation starship. This theme continues throughout the ship and we keep finding surprising little details throughout the week.

The captain signals to speak to the ship, and the familiar whistles of an incoming announcement from The Next Generation sounds.

As the ship gets underway, they play the “Leaving Spacedock” music from The Motion Picture.

I glance over at Steve and he is smiling so severely I fear his face will split open. He raises his drink to me and raises his hand in the familiar “Live Long and Prosper” salute. He then changes it to the sign language symbol for “I love you,” which he and I do anytime we want to say it silently.

I sign it back, then extend my index and middle fingers. “I love you, too.”

4. We are having coffee on the promenade. It’s a sea day, and we are taking it easy, people watching from a table off to the side. It’s 10:00am, and there are some people already in full costume wandering up and down the main area , stopping for pictures and sharing trade secrets. These are not cheap, Halloween affairs, but rather a full-blown cosplay, which are simultaneously amusing and impressive. A klingon walks by…then a vulcan…then two vulcans…then a Bajoran. I am suddenly stunned to find that I can name almost all of the species parading through the ship. Up until then I would have described myself as a casual fan, but through Steve’s tutelage, perhaps I am at least a low-grade Trekkie as well.

5. Nightly on the cruise, there is a meeting for LGBTQIA+ travelers in the “Stardust Bar.” Steve and I have been on mini cruises, and usually there are anywhere from 10 to 20 travelers he’ll gather, drink, and make some friendships. it always makes us feel a little safer and a little bit better knowing that there are other people from our community on the ship.

We arrive at the bar, expecting a small gathering, and it is wall to wall people. I tried to count, but stop at 70. On guess, I would imagine there were 150 or more. There are rainbow colored Federation symbols, Star Trek, and planets on T-shirts as far as the I can see.

I nudge Steve.

“Did we accidentally go on a gay cruise?”

“Maybe,” he says.

We get drinks and start the laborious process of trying to make friends.

6. The entertainment for tonight is a set of opera performances, featuring Robert Picardo (better known as the holographic doctor from Voyager) and world reknowned tenor, Arturo Chacon-Cruz. I was expecting it to be fairly dry, but they interject enough humor and stories inbetween the arias to make it really interesting, plus they both perform beautifully.

At the height of the concert, another lady joins them on stage in full Klingon cosplay and sings a Klingon opera.

I will never be able to look at Carmen the same way again.

7. We are sitting in Gorn’s Bar, having drinks and planning our day when I notice the music being piped through the speaker. It is a discount beat with an early 80s synth pop feel, and the singers keep singing two phrases over and over:

“Star Trek….Star Trek Cruuuuuise…Star Trek….Star Trek Cruuuuuise…”

I start laughing uncontrollably. Our cruise has its own theme song.

I freaking love it.

8. Another entertainment night, and this time several Star Trek actors are doing a live reading of a script. I was actually expecting it to be fairly dry and straightforward, but they turn it into an improv comedy riot.

Afterwards I’m heading up in one of the turbo lifts to go to the top deck, when Denise Crosby jumps in the elevator with me. She played Lieutenant Yar on the first season of Star Trek the next generation, and was absolutely hilarious in the performance we just saw.

There is a moment of awkward silence as we were the only two people in the elevator. I don’t want to bother her, but I am a big fan. She was in one of my absolute favorite horror, movies of all time.

“I loved you in Pet Sematary ,” I say.

She smiles and thanks me. “Nobody ever mentions that one,” she laughs.

She pops out, and I leave smiling as well. She was just as nice and I had always hoped she would be.

9. It is the big costume contest night, and the passengers went all out. I had always seen pictures of Star Trek cosplay from conventions, but seeing it live is something else entirely. For a little while, you might really believe you were walking amongst aliens and people from another world. and they also just happened to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

10. It is close to the end of the cruise, and we receive a notice about booking for Star Trek the cruise IX. I ask Steve if he wants to go again next year.

He smiles.

“Make it so.”

EPILOGUE: so for anyone, wondering, we had an absolute blast on this trip. It was honestly one of the most fun cruise experiences I have ever had. If you are a hard-core Star Trek fan or even a casual one, or just enjoy being in an environment with creative, geeky people, and no kids, you would have a blast on this trip.

As for me…

I have been walking around my house for a week now, softly singing to myself…

“Star Trek….Star Trek Cruuuuuise…Star Trek….Star Trek Cruuuuuise…”

Peace Love and Music…and Live Long and Prosper

03/10/2025

Dear directors,

I know it may feel like it sometimes, but trust me…

Your self worth should NEVER be tied to the rating your ensemble receives, high or low.

Always strive for excellence, but never lose sight of the impact you have on your students and the person you are outside of the job.

You are MORE than a rating.

And it’s enough.

☮️❤️🎵

Sidenote: Your ensemble can get high ratings, and you can still be doing poorly in other aspects of your life (health, relationships, etc). Take care of the WHOLE person. Don’t let the quest for a high rating wreck your life. It is NOT worth it.

03/06/2025

If your band receives a Superior rating (Division 1), celebrate your band.

If your band receives an Excellent rating (Division 2), celebrate your band.

If your band receives a Good rating (Division 3), celebrate your band.

If your band showed up…

If your band worked…

If your band grew…

If your band performed…

Celebrate your band.

Peace Love and Music - Randy Standy

☮️❤️🎵

02/21/2025

I guess it's time to write about this. It has never seemed like a good time to do so, with everything going on in our world right now. I have no sense of self-importance and realize that my own issues and struggles don't amount to much in the grand scheme of things, but still, I've been wanting to share this. This is a long one, so please feel free to "TLDR" and see yourself out.

In late summer of 2023, I had a really scary car accident. This will be the first many of you are hearing about this, as I did not post anything about it. Long story short, I was driving, it was raining, and my car hit a slick spot and flew across the median, banging me up pretty good and hurtling towards oncoming traffic. I remember thinking very clearly, "I'm about to die." However, the car stopped a few inches from the road. Some people stopped to check on me, and other than a few cuts, I was unhurt. The car was still driveable, so I drove home, feeling very lucky to be alive. I kept telling myself I was okay.

I was NOT okay.

It didn't happen immediately, but in the months following the incident, my depressive episodes became worse, and a general apathy began to invade my life. For those of you unfamiliar with the symptoms of depression, it is far more than being upset. There's the brain fog, the lack of energy, the forgetfulness. Typically, these episodes last 2-3 days for me. However, following the accident they started to expand. 2 weeks. 3 weeks. A month.

In 2024, I had a depressive episode that lasted 11 months.

During these 11 months, I had to try to function as normally as possible. I had commissions that were due, publisher deadlines to meet, conducting engagements to keep, and conventions to attend. I had a marriage to attend to, friendships to maintain, and my life to manage. Internally, I was far from okay, but I had to do what so many people in my position have to do every day.

I had to "put on the mask."

The mask that says, "I'm fine."

The mask that says "I can."

The mask that smiles and says, "Everything is okay."

But masks can crack. They can break, in fact.

At several engagements, people mentioned this in various ways:
"You look tired."
"Are you okay?"
"You seem a little upset."

They were right, seeing through the cracks and into the storm raging inside my head.

Many of my long-time friends and followers will know that I receive treatment for mental health disorders (Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia, specifically). During that year, I took my meds, did my therapy exercises, and managed to survive the experience. I spent more time with Steve. I spent more time with my dogs. I made sure to keep exercising, even thought I REALLY did not want to (especially after the arm injury).

I also stopped accepting so many projects, as I knew I needed to focus on making it through this period. While it may seem like I traveled a lot last year, I was on the road for about 35 days. The previous year, it was closer to 60, so you can see there was a big reduction.

I also found it extremely difficult to write during this time. Not impossible, mind you, as this was the same period that produced Stay, Scream, Son of Santa the Barbarian, and other works. I CAN function during these times, but it's far harder. I also stopped accepting so many commissions while I was dealing with this.

Then, thankfully, in December, the episode finally abated. Not quite on Christmas Day, but in enough time for me to enjoy Midwest and the holidays.

Since then, I've had a few more episodes, but they have been minor, back to the 1 or 2 days.

I still get tense when I'm driving, especially in the rain, but it's getting better.

Why am I sharing this?

If I have seemed moody or not quite myself over the past year, I wanted you to know there was a reason. I also wanted to let people know that I was taking care of myself.

Having a depressive episode does not mean that you are NOT taking care of yourself. It just means it's the time where you have to care for yourself EVEN MORE. Stick to the meds and strategies that work for you, and if they're not working, get with a professional who will help you find the ones that do.

So, this is me taking the mask off.

I'm fine now, really.

And today was a good day.

☮️❤️🎵

PS - Thank you to everyone who sent me some positive messages yesterday. It was very much appreciated.

02/08/2025

Very exciting news!

Before sharing this, I must admit that I have sat on this news for a while. With everything going on in the world, I'm not sure anyone really cares about this, as it doesn't amount to such of a much; but, dammit, I am proud of our composers and our hard work, and I hope we will be allowed to celebrate it just a little.

Congratulations to the RSM team for having 13 works named to the 2024 Band World Magazine Top 100. This is a company record, and it gets even better. For several of our composers, this was their first time included on the list. A HUGE congratulations to:

Katie O'Hara LaBrie, Top 100 first time!
Erin Keeton-Howard, Top 100 first time!
Emily Graham, Top 100 first time!

Also, huge congratulations to Robert Sheldon and JaRod Hall as well!

I was also extremely gratified (and not just a little shocked) to see that two movements of my Symphony were also selected. As a composer who is primarily known for my younger band music, this meant a lot to me.

Having said that, I am equally proud of all of our works in our catalog. We have an interior motto..."Nothing But Gems." We strive to live up to this standard with every piece we publish.

Thank you again to everyone for the support. It makes me so happy that our small company is being recognized, and I am so happy to call all of our composers friends as well as colleagues.

We're going to keep on keepin' on.

☮️❤️🎵

02/04/2025

Hot take: You should pick your music for festival based on what your kiddos need, not on what you think will impress the director down the street.

You’ll do more for your career doing the former rather than the latter.

Trust me.

☮️❤️🎵

02/02/2025

Feeling cute, might conduct a concert later, idk.

☮️❤️🎵

01/31/2025

Trust your musicians...

This past weekend, I had the honor of conducting the Michigan All-State High School Concert Band. It was a great weekend, but I had gone into the weekend with a great deal of anxiety, fearing that I had overprogrammed for the group. Mostly, the pieces seemed manageable: Sonic Pathways by Nathan Hervey, Shadow Falls by Julie Giroux, Animation (Episode 1: WABBIT!) by myself, and Danse Perpetuo by Jason K. Nitsch.

And then there was unBroken, another of my works.

For those of you who are not familiar, unBroken is the genesis piece for the entire unBroken project. It is a massive Grade 5 work that takes 14-16 minutes to perform at tempo. It is also incredibly emotionally taxing, as it depicts the lives of people who live with mental health issues; it also specifically tells the story of my mother's breakdown and eventual triumph over hers.

My worry wasn't about the talent of the musicians but rather the rehearsal time necessary to work the piece up (we had roughly 11 hours total between the two days of rehearsals.

Originally, I did not wish to program it, but fortunately, JoAnn Rahl-Gross talked me into it.

To clarify, my fear was not about how the concert would make ME sound. I carry no ego when I conduct honor bands, and I put my sole focus on the student experience. I was concerned that I would fail them. That my time management and teaching skills would not be up to the task of leading them through all of these pieces and creating a concert that would showcase their amazing musicianship.

However...

From day one, the students were fully engaged and focused. I put the challenge to them, and they expressed a desire to rise to the occasion...which they did. Admirably.

The concert went well, and after unBroken was finished, the audience gave the students a rousing ovation.

Often, at honor bands, I tell the musicians to "trust their talent" and to not be nervous. I had to take a bit of my own advice this time and trust my own abilities as well as theirs.

If you want to build a better band culture, trust your musicians.

And, more importantly, yourself.

A huge thank you to the Band Directors of Michigan for sharing your students with me for a few days. They did everything and more than I could have ever asked of them. Music is alive and well in your state.

Peace, Love, and Music - Randy Standy ☮️❤️🎵

Photo credits to various bands and directors (please tag yourself in the post!)

01/22/2025

Another flight, another coffee…

Heading to the beautiful state of Michigan to enjoy a weekend with their All-State Band (and another Michigan honor band on Monday).

Yes, I know it’s going to be cold.

Yes, it is completely worth it.

Let’s go make some music (and memories)!

☮️❤️🎵

01/17/2025

Hello, my name is Randall Standridge, and I unironically tell my pets goodbye and I love them when I leave the house.

That's it.

That's the post.

☮️❤️🎵

01/07/2025

For our Northern and Western friends, while it’s undeniably fun to chuckle at Southerners dealing with snow, allow me to provide some perspective:

Snow? Try Ice.
What we’re dealing with down here isn’t fluffy, picturesque snow; it’s ice—sheets of it. Driving on ice isn’t just a challenge; it’s a death wish wrapped in a layer of frost. This might also explain the South’s deep affection for snow cones—we’re practically drowning in the raw material come winter. As a child, I spent many a summer afternoon laboring in the local ice mines, chiseling away for a cool treat. It builds character (or so I was told).

The Budgetary Dilemma.
Southern states don’t allocate much of their budget for snow removal. Why would they? In Jonesboro, Arkansas, where I live, we’re lucky if we see one or two snow days a year. This lack of preparedness is why we stay home, raid the pantry, and make snow cream—a delightful concoction of snow, vanilla extract, condensed milk, and, when school’s canceled and the kids are stuck at home with you, a generous splash of vodka (at least according to one of my Aunts).

The Milk-Bread Ritual.
Any Southern snowstorm unleashes a primal urge to empty grocery stores of milk and bread. This is not irrational; it’s tradition. We craft the milk and bread into a paste to fashion milk-bread snowmen, which we store in our refrigerators overnight. According to folklore, if the Great Abominable Snowman visits, he’ll reward good behavior with toys and candy. Misbehave, however, and he’ll kill your car's battery or alternator.

I hope this clears up a few things for you. Laugh if you must, but remember: down here, we’re just doing the best we can with a whole lot of ice and a little bit of magic.

☮️❤️🎵

01/06/2025

Dear music educators,

This is a reminder that, sometime this semester, whether you know it or not, you’re going to change a kid’s life forever.

YOU.

You will do that.

You are awesome.

Have a great semester, and start it with a smile!

☮️❤️🎵

12/31/2024

What's one thing you have carried with you from music class into your adult life? For me, it's being on time, all the time.

Music Educators are changing lives and building future success every single day.

It's more than music education.

It's life education.

Music Matters.

☮️❤️🎵

12/29/2024

SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN HONOR BAND CLINICIAN
(10 tips for a successful honor band experience)*

In about 1.5 weeks, I will be embarking first of my honor band engagements for the new year, so I thought this might be a good time to post this. I post this every year, and I still stand by it. Maybe it’ll help a few people.

*Some of these are pieces of advice I received from master clinicians over the years, and some I learned the hard way. I have served as the conductor for over 120 honor bands at all levels, and these are my best tips.

1. PICK GOOD MUSIC: I would say 90% of the success of your clinic will be music selection. Make sure the music will engage the students AND keep them busy. Do NOT pick pieces that exclude large numbers of percussionists (see #3 below). Make sure your music has a variety of styles and creates a sense of shape throughout the concert. Not only should each piece create a sense of climax, but the concert's overall shape should as well. Here are a few good examples of concert structures:

4 Tunes
A. Fast Opener, Short, Exciting
B. Lyrical/Hymn tune
C. Climactic piece, Dramatic, Programmatic, Premieres*,
D. Light Piece, March, Pop Tuneb, Finale

5 Tunes
A. Fast Opener, Short, Exciting
B. Quirky, Charming, Folk Dance, Innovative, Experimental
C. Lyrical/Hymn tune
D. Climactic piece, Dramatic, Programatic, Premieres*,
E. Light Piece, March, Pop Tune, Finale

Obviously, you can vary as you see fit, but these have proven successful for me.

2. PICK APPROPRIATE MUSIC DIFFICULTY AND HAVE BACKUPS ON BOTH ENDS. If you want a short season in hell, pick music that is either way too difficult or way too easy for the ensemble. Bored or frustrated performers are NOT having a good experience. Be sure, when selecting music, to ask the hosts for repertoire lists from previous years. Talk to conductors who have worked with that honor band before. Submit potential repertoire lists and get the hosts' reactions. Put at least one piece harder than you think they can handle in the folder, and put at least TWO pieces easier than you think they can handle in there as well. This way, you are ready for anything. Also, select music appropriately in regard to the rehearsal time you will be given

3. BE CONSIDERATE OF THE PERCUSSIONISTS. Students work hard to be selected for honor bands; this includes percussionists. Do NOT select music that excludes them. While every piece doesn’t have to be a percussion feature, it should be engaging. If you absolutely MUST program O Magnum Mysterium, Sleep, or October, confer with the host ahead of time and see if there will be percussion staff available to take the percussion out into sectionals. Also, be sure that every percussionist is playing on every single piece. In my opinion, an honor band experience is about the performers, not just the music. If you are playing a march or an older work, double up parts so that all performers are engaged at all times. Give the percussionists the oboe parts to perform on mallets. Do something.

4. MANAGE YOUR REHEARSAL TIME. Be sure to have a general plan and make sure you can get to all of the music you intend to get to AND to prepare it for the concert. Give students breaks. Even when fixing small problems, try to engage as many students as possible. Yes, you might need to fix that clarinet moment, but can you have everybody else playing and still hear it, so they’re not just sitting there? Your students will thank you for it.

5. BE REALISTIC ABOUT EXPECTATIONS GIVEN THE TIME/TALENT YOU HAVE. Always remember that this is an honor band, not something that will be judged at a festival. Some honor bands can last three days, and I have conducted some that only have four hours of rehearsal. Here are a couple of basic guidelines for overall plans for Honor Band rehearsal strategies:
Mid/Longer clinics:
A. Reading session: read through all or portions of the works to assess the group’s abilities. After your first session, make a decision about what you think the program will be
B. Workshop. Work on the pieces you have decided on. Work them one at a time, and allow time for students to build familiarity with the work and to understand its structure, flow, and transitions. Except for extremely technical moments/works, rehearse at the actual tempo you want to perform. Performers WILL internalize this, and changing it later will be difficult. That last statement goes TRIPLE for middle school honor bands. Work out problem areas, articulations, dynamics, etc. Lastly, make sure that you do enough repetitions for the students to internalize the piece. Do not underestimate the role muscle memory plays in the success of a performance.
C. Final Touches/Dress rehearsal. Review the pieces and especially review any transitions or tempo changes. Be sure to practice any stage presence items such as standing or sitting at appropriate moments, recognizing soloists, or any special type of physical thing that you want the students to do. Go over it multiple times.
Short Clinics
A. Read/Internalize. With a shorter clinic, you are going to have to combine the two parts in the previous section. In regards to selecting repertoire. Shorter clinics demand that you make decisions more quickly and have a better idea before the clinic even begins of the actual ability level. If you are reading a piece and the students are not getting it within the first 10 minutes, boot it. If something seems too easy, congratulations, it is something you will probably be able to put together in four hours or less. Focus on one piece at a time and give the students a chance to learn and internalize it. Do not skip around a lot as this will just create confusion.
B. Final Touches/Dress rehearsal. Review the pieces and especially review any transitions or tempo changes. Be sure to practice stage presence items such as standing or sitting at appropriate moments, recognizing soloists, or any special type of physical thing you want the students to do. Go over it multiple times.

6. DON’T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON WARM-UP. There are directors and conductors who will argue with me on this point, but I strongly feel that the students are there to play repertoire and to have a good experience. Yes, we want them to sound good, to play in tune, to play with good tones and balance/blend, and, yes, we do want to do a good warm-up. But realize that anytime you spend on this is time you’re taking away from getting to the music. The size of your warm-up and the length of it should be relative to the length of the clinic and consider all the goals you have and the music you have selected. One strategy I use is to incorporate many of the warm-up and ensemble sound skills that I want the students to achieve into the repertoire. Again, this is an honor band, not your home band in which you will have weeks and weeks to work on these concepts.

7. BE AGREEABLE TO YOUR HOSTS. Nobody likes a diva. Roll with the punches. If things are not to your liking, you’re only going to be there for a couple days. Deal with it. You build your reputation as a conductor and clinician one honor band at a time. And people DO talk. However, be honest but tactful if your host asks you for input. Praise what is done well and offer constructive criticism with solutions for things that could be better.

8. MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE AFTER THE CONCERT. When planning your trip, make sure to allow at least an hour after the concert to talk with students, parents, or directors once the performance has concluded. Some people may want photo opportunities, and some people may just want to talk, or whatever. You have to remember that this is a very special occasion for them, and in the age of social media and digital cameras, they want documentation.

9. TRAVEL SMART. If you’re going to do this type of thing a lot, here are some travel tips for you.
A. Get TSA pre-checked. You will save hours.
B. Allow way more time than you need for driving and/or flying. Life happens, and it doesn’t always revolve around you. Be ready for anything
C. If you experience any type of delay, keep your hosts informed.
D. If it is a short trip and stay, I recommend trying to get everything onto a carry-on. This will save your host luggage cost and keep you from having to wait around at the airport for your luggage once you arrive.
E. If you are renting a car, make sure that the reservation is taken care of in advance. I like HERTZ because I have enrolled in their gold program and I usually just show up at the counter, grab my keys, and I am going. It is easy and fast.
F. Always keep your musical necessities with you on the plane. This might be a briefcase or backpack. If your luggage gets lost, you can quickly go to a department store and get a new suit or appropriate attire. This will not be true for your scores, or other paraphernalia.
G. Keep snacks in your backpack or suitcase. Being “Hangry” doesn’t help anyone.

10. A FEW SPECIAL NOTES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL HONOR BANDS. Repeat this with me. Middle school and high school honor bands are not the same. Middle school and high school honor bands are not the same. Middle school and high school honor bands are not the same.
A. The biggest difference I tell people is that for a high school honor band, it will mostly be a matter of interpretation, internalizing, and style for the performers. For a middle school band, you need to be ready to really teach. Teach rhythms, meters, dynamics, articulations, etc. Assume they know nothing and be ready to teach everything. With luck, you’ll only need to teach half of it.
B. Repetition, repetition, repetition. For this age group, the internalizing of muscle memory for performing is even more important. Allow enough time in your rehearsals to repeat phrases and whole pieces enough times, so the students feel confident in their performance. This will help keep them from falling apart on stage.
C. Keep tempi and transitions as steady as possible. Yes, as conductors, it is fun to experiment with rhythm and tempo alterations, but for this age group that will create more confusion and uncertainty than it will anything else. For middle school honor bands, I tend to rehearse things at the exact tempo I want to perform them at.
D. Be ready to teach tonal concepts and pedagogical concepts for each instrument. Be ready to introduce the tuning concept to some of the students, who may not be familiar with it. Be aware when you ask students to do something in this age group, they may have never done it before. Be ready to teach it.

BONUS: One final thing. If you are doing honor bands to further your reputation and not for the players' experience, you should do everybody a favor and not agree to do them.

I hope you find this list helpful and informative. I enjoy my time as a clinician and have learned a lot. However, I’m still improving all the time. A well-prepared, well-strategized honor band can be really fun. If you have a bad experience, you probably have nobody but yourself to blame. If it is successful, you may also take credit for that.

If you have other suggestions or comments, please leave them below.

Peace, Love, and Music.

Randall D. Standridge, Composer/Marching Arts Designer

03/12/2025

03/10/2025

03/06/2025

02/21/2025

02/08/2025

02/04/2025

02/02/2025

01/31/2025

01/22/2025

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