The Clark County School District does right by its students more than its reputation might suggest. Take its music education program: It has earned the Best Communities for Music Education designation for the 26th consecutive year, one of only six U.S. school districts to reach that milestone. It raises the question: Where do CCSD music teachers maintain their chops? For these three, it’s the stages they grace long after that final school bell.
Orlando Santos
School: Advanced Technologies Academy
Instrument: Drums/percussion
Where they play: Freelance gigs include the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Nevada Pops, David Perrico Pop Symphonic, and Brody Dolyniuk Symphonic Rock Show
How playing music led to teaching music: “I really enjoy conveying my thought process and the things I do onstage to my students, so they’re not just reading notes, but listening to the ensemble and where they fit into the whole artistic portrait for the audience.”
How performance informs instruction: “My approach is, I don’t come at (teaching) as either a different or supplemental job. My teaching is my continuing to make music.”
Playing onstage after a week in the classroom: “I relish it for a lot of reasons, not just to refresh or relax, but (also) because it’s a reminder of what I’m doing all week.”
Learning from the kids: “Some kids are visual learners, some are aural learners … but sometimes, in my trying to get a kid to understand a difficult concept, they'll come up with something on accident that helps me understand how to better explain it to others.”
Megan Wingerter
School: M.J. Christensen Elementary School
Instrument: Violin, guitar, piano, ukelele
Where they play: Freelance gigs include David Perrico Pop Strings Orchestra and Premiere Wedding & Event Music. Member of the bands The Whiskey Fiddlers and Dusty Sunshine.
How playing music led to teaching music: “Growing up, I had very influential teachers. When I got to college, I did violin performance, but I also had a desire to teach music. I wanted to share that with other people.”
How performance informs instruction: “Being both a music teacher and performer, they really work well together. If I’m teaching music, I want to be able to show the kiddos that I can actually play what I’m teaching.”
Playing onstage after a week in the classroom: “The nine-to-five teaching job, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. But once that’s done, I can do my gigs on the weekend, or even my own songwriting … It’s what I love to do.”
Learning from the kids: “I teach ukelele to my fourth and fifth graders, and once they get string instruments in their hands, they get so excited. As performers, we’re just going through the gigs and getting into a routine, and you sometimes lose the joy. But the kiddos remind me of it.”
Glen Colby
School: William E. Orr Middle School
Instruments: Trumpet
Where they play: Member of Jazz Vegas Orchestra, sub for Vegas the Show
How playing music led to teaching music: “My junior high school band director involved me a lot in the education process. So I knew I’d be a band director. Even as a freelance trumpet player, I was doing paraprofessional work with the schools and taught lessons.”
How performance informs instruction: “In the Jazz Vegas Orchestra, it’s high-level music. I’m learning myself … including little tricks I can pass on to the kids. I have problems figuring stuff out, and I can relate my experience to the kids, and they can learn more easily, too.”
Playing onstage after a week in the classroom: “The music I’m playing is at a high level, and it’s intense to prepare for.”
Learning from the kids: “Sometimes I’ll be helping a kid who’s not quite getting it. I’ll say, ‘Try it (this other) way,’ and he gets it, and then I think, ‘Oh, maybe I should do it that way, too.’ … When you have to walk someone through something, you’re learning as well.”
