#LOVE MUSIC Dr. Stephen L. Gage Dear Friends, I was honored to be asked by TRIAD Editor, Shawn Reynolds, one of my former students and an outstanding musician, teacher, and conductor, to write an article based on one of my favorite life and career mantras: Love Music! As I write this, I am cognizant of the work and preparation each of you is putting into the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. Without question, we hope and pray that the COVID-19 pandemic will be controlled to the point where much more normal teaching situations can exist in music classrooms and ensembles in Ohio this coming year and beyond. The past 18+ months have been very stressful for all of you, for your students, and for your students’ families. While health and safety should always be a high priority in education settings, there is no question that an in-class experience in music education is much preferred over online learning and that it is more effective in most situations. This letter is constructed in three sections: 1. Where are we? 2. What do we need to do to make sure that we are growing as musicians and teachers? 3. What is next? 21 | TRIAD
As I just finished my 28th year at Youngstown State Dana School of Music, where I taught graduate conducting and conducted the YSU Wind Ensemble and YSU Dana Symphony Orchestra, my comments will be directed, primarily, to conductors. That said, I am convinced that we can all glean much from one another. Sometimes, reaching “outside the box” in our pursuit of new pedagogical ideas and knowledge can be very fruitful!! Where are we? Most music educators pursued their career path because someone or a group of someones’ inspired us in a variety of ways. Falling in love with music is, I believe, the prerequisite to a successful and rewarding career in this artform. What is challenging for us, of course, is to be careful not to let that passion and love for teaching and recreating music be extinguished by non-musical or non-teaching factors that are out of our control. Without question, the administrative tasks required of today’s music educator, say nothing of the extramusical requirements (fundraising, planning trips, hosting events, et al) can be so overwhelming that in a relatively short period of time one can effectively
