Core Pholosophies Part 1

At the recent Midwest Clinic in Chicago, December 2022, I had the opportunity to say a few words as part of a panel discussion on rehearsal philosophies in the orchestra classroom. As part of that brief talk, I mentioned that there are a number of core philosophies that I employ in my daily life and with my family and work. So, this is the first in a series of posts which outline some of those philosophies and give a little bit of background. I hope something here speaks to you.

First, I would just briefly say that these philosophies serve as guideposts in my life and leadership. They give me a solid foundation to use as I plan my strategies for navigating family life, work, relationships, personal ethics and integrity, and other elements of my daily life. Also, they provide a solid foundation for moments that are trying and difficult. It is so easy to waiver in difficult times. Having clearly articulated core philosophies is a great way to mitigate snap decisions that are regretted later. They are effectively a set of glasses through which to view the world. They make things just a little bit more in focus. When core philosophies are neglected, things can feel disorienting and uncomfortable. So, these are some of my guideposts.

Love Works

This philosophy grows from a number of experiences in my life. I feel like the phrase is probably self-explanatory. With that said, I will provide just a little bit of context. A number of years ago, I read the book, Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders by Joel Manby. During the time I was reading the book, I had had a bit of a down period in my joy and happiness in my work. This book was a wonderful reminder of a core value that I held but hadn't truly articulated and consciously applied to every element of my life and teaching. Following reading the book, I was able to very clearly grasp this as a strong and unwavering principle in my life.  Given any situation, try to find a way to love the person you encounter. This can be a person or people in need, a person or people who love you and need you, or a person or people who don't like you or even seek to harm you. In the end, I endeavor to approach everyone I encounter with love. Am I 100% effective at following the principal? Absolutely not! But it's a core philosophy of mine and I can honestly say that it has never let me down.

Move With Purpose

I borrowed this phrase from my dear friend, Drama Instructor at NCSSM, Adam Sampieri. I heard him use this phrase with his theater students as part of a rehearsal. Adam is a spectacular teacher and theatrical coach. The first time I heard him use the phrase, it struck me as so universal. I truly believe that a great deal of the success I have enjoyed as a music educator is a simple result of being willing to work hard and move with purpose. Some may call it hustle. I don't like the negative connotation of the word hustle. It's really simply being willing to work hard and move meaningfully through all of the tasks of a day, even when one doesn't want to or feel like it. We used this phrase with our kids quite a bit as they were growing up. I see so many students who "saunter" through their day, both literally and metaphorically. I never wanted that to be the impression my sons gave to a teacher. Show a little initiative. Work hard. Look alive. Move with purpose. It will get you somewhere.

There is Power in Steadfast

I truly believe that one of the highest compliments one can receive is to be referred to as "steadfast." I started keying in on this word and concept several years ago. When I hear the word steadfast, I think of my Dad. He is the personification of steadfast. He worked for the same school district as a teacher and administrator for 42 years. He and my Mom have been married for over 60 years. He has been right there, cheering me and my sisters on through countless musical performances, professional accomplishments, and parenting milestones in a way that is simply remarkably steadfast. He is a man of faith who lives out his beliefs quietly and consistently. My Dad is even keeled. He is unflappable. He is unwavering. He is steadfast. What a great example for me and my family. There are so many benefits to this type of predictability. I believe when one is steadfast, others know they can count on you. There aren't wide swings in emotion or in action or reaction. Can we do it all the time? Most of us can't. But I aspire to be steadfast.

I hope there may be something in these first three of my core philosophies that you find interesting or inspiring. There will be more of these posts to come.

What are your core guiding philosophies? Drop a few of them in the comments section here. I would love to hear from you. 

Peace.

Scott

NCSSM Morganton

I've been spending a lot of time over the past year or so working on the opening of NCSSM's new campus located in Morganton NC. It has been a wonderful ride and we are now up and running with 150 11th grade students on our new campus. Programs are now moving forward and it is really the realization of a dream come true. I thought this would be a good time too tell the story of this new campus for those of you that are not familiar with this ambitious project.

About 7 years ago, the NC State Legislature gave us, the NC School of Science and Math, a mandate to open a second campus on an existing 800 acre parcel of state land in Morganton NC, about 3 hours west of the current Durham location.  After a great deal of planning, new construction, and renovations of 3 historic buildings on the site, we opened the NCSSM-Morganton campus in August.  Both locations are residential schools which serve 11th and 12th graders from across NC.  The Durham location, where I have served as a faculty member for 21 years, houses 680 students and the new Morganton campus will be home to 300.  (By the way- both are fully funded by the state. There is no charge for tuition, room, or board.  Full scholarships for everyone!) The new school has the same basic graduation requirements as the Durham location which was established in 1980, however with a general focus on Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, in addition to a course catalog comparable to the Durham campus.  I anticipate a great deal of cross campus collaboration.

In my role as Fine Arts Chair for both campuses, I was hiring manager for our new Art, Music, and Theater faculty positions.  My role in recent months has been to not only be to lead the hiring and onboarding of our new arts faculty and develop a compatible, but unique arts curriculum to the Durham campus, but also to help set tone and culture among all new faculty in the Morganton location.  We hope to develop many interdisciplinary offerings and for the arts curriculum to accurately reflect and utilize the distinctive characteristics of the region. This includes a complete music curriculum and a ceramics, pottery and 3D focus in the art curriculum reflective of that culture in the western part of NC.

As far as last summer is concerned, all administrators were asked to be "on call" for the entirety of the summer.  The joke was that the faculty even assembled bunk beds and dressers the summer before NCSSM Durham opened in 1980.  I stood ready to do that important work if called upon, but it was not necessary!  In all truth, I, along with our new hires, did a good deal of curriculum development over the summer and team building with the entire faculty.  As we build the program, truly, there are no rules here. Just possibilities.  So, dreamers are welcome and new faculty are being encouraged to think broadly about the possibilities.  

For the foreseeable future, I will be splitting time between Durham and Morganton.  I will continue to direct the Orchestra in Durham, but otherwise have primarily administrative duties at this point.  This hits at a great time as my youngest son is a sophomore in college and Barbra and I are finding a new rhythm at home without kids around.  NCSSM puts me up in a nice hotel in the middle of downtown Morganton and makes working out there very comfortable.

So, as you can see, I am really embracing the opportunity. How many folks have the opportunity to put their thumbprint on a school on the occasion of it's opening.  I am truly excited about the possibilities and to lead our new arts faculty wherever their talents may take us!

After only one semester of being open, the arts program at NCSSM-Morganton is in full swing. Music students, under the direction of Jim Kirkpatrick, have presented a full concert in our newly renovated barn performance space. Courtney Long, our talented Art Instructor, has students moving forward quickly with all kinds of art projects ranging from drawing to sculpture to pottery and other design projects. And, our Drama program is getting rolling and plans to present a performance of She Fights Dragons in the late winter.

So, that is a little bit of an update on NCSSM Morganton and my work as we open this new campus. I will continue to keep you updated as things continue to progress. 

Peace.

Scott

A Christmas Story 1995

As we are in the midst of the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to share a little Christmas story of days gone by. 

This story takes place in Prince George's County Maryland around December 1995.  In those years, I was the Orchestra Director at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. As many of you know, Eleanor Roosevelt had/has a incredibly vibrant music program with multiple orchestras, bands, and choirs as part of the school music program. In those years, Eleanor Roosevelt was the largest high school in Maryland and December was always an incredibly busy time. My work in December always centered around three primary activities. One was preparation and performance of numerous holiday concerts with my three orchestras. These included holiday concerts with the Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra and a Concerto Concert with the Chamber Orchestra accompanying exceptional student soloists who were selected by audition in an extraordinarily competitive environment.. All music educators know that the holiday concert season is incredibly taxing and always carries a bit of stress along with the fun of performing. That was certainly the case for me in 1995.  Another of my regular activities were various gigs throughout the Prince George's County region and many performing opportunities at our church, Christian Community Presbyterian Church in Bowie Maryland. I love the holidays because they always mean that I will be spending a great deal of time with my instrument in my hands. This was certainly the case in 1995. Finally, as part of the instrumental music program at Eleanor Roosevelt, there was a huge citrus fruit sale and delivery which occurred right around the holidays. My dear friend, ERHS Band Director Sally Wagner would always say that the community surrounding Eleanor Roosevelt High School had "an inalienable right to fruit" and we would always keep that promise. The fruit sale always involved one day of unloading at least one and a half tractor trailers full of citrus fruit and sometimes it would be two full trailers. The next day folks would pick up their previously ordered fruit and we would distribute all of that fruit almost as quickly as it came off the truck. So, as you can imagine, December of 1995 was extraordinarily busy and not without its level of stress.

At home, my wife and I had a home we had purchased just a year or two earlier and were enjoying our new responsibility of decorating the house for the holidays. This included a fresh cut Christmas tree we had purchased and proudly placed in our new, albeit inexpensive, tree stand. We decorated the tree with all of the ornaments students had given us over the years and it was displayed prominently in our living room. One day, after a long day at work, I returned home to find that the tree had fallen. I picked up the tree and worked to rebalance it and make sure that it was stable in the stand. Within another 24 hours the tree had fallen again. When I returned home after a particularly stressful day of teaching and rehearsing, I found the tree down yet again. So, in a more frustrated state this time, I picked it back up and re-situated the tree in the stand hoping that it would stay up at this point. As we moved another day closer to the concerto concert and other stressful holiday activities, the tree was clearly unstable. After one particularly hard day I returned home to find the tree and all the ornaments spread across the living room floor and in a fit of rage I tossed it out the front door, ornaments and all. My wife, Barbra, came home and was mortified at the carnage in our front yard. She asked me if we were going to replace it and in my frustration I said, "Absolutely not. I am done with Christmas this year." I am sure she remembers this differently, but my recollection is that there wasn't much argument. She figured the Christmas ship had probably sailed. 

I went to work the next day and while in the midst of rehearsal with the Chamber Orchestra, I told them the ugly story of the Christmas tree. My 20 or so string students in the room just looked at me with complete horror and disbelief in their eyes as I recounted the story. Clearly, Mr Laird had lost the Christmas spirit. He had officially become the Grinch.

I continued through my day without giving it another thought. I had rehearsals all day, rehearsals after school, and other rehearsals for gigs into the evening. By the time I was able to return home I was absolutely exhausted and ready for a good night's rest. I walked into the house and things seemed unusually quiet. I stepped into my living room only to see a new tree setup in my living room completely decorated with all of our ornaments. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then, I heard a bit of a commotion in my kitchen and out came all of the students from the ERHS Chamber Orchestra. They had converged on the Laird household earlier that evening, brought a new tree, set it up, and decorated it while my wife quickly provided and imprmptu party with hot chocolate and popcorn. Even now, nearly 30 years later, my eyes are misty as I recall the incredible gift those teenagers gave me that Christmas. All they intended to do that night was to bring a little joy back into our little home. They did that and so much more. It was such an expression of love from students to a teacher they provided me that night. And for that matter, my wife as well. We talked and laughed and told stories for quite some time that night. 

Another strong recollection of mine is that the tree was a little too tall for our living room. Rather than cutting it off at the bottom to make it fit in the room, they cut it off at the top so that the tree had no point, but a flat top where they had whacked off 12 inches or so. It was absolutely hilarious to look at. I am not positive, but I think that was the brilliant work of cellist, Gil Min. (One of you can correct me if that is wrong!) That made it even more special and provided lots of laughter in good feelings as we celebrated their accomplishment of totally surprising me.

Isn't that what the spirit of Christmas is all about? Bringing joy into the lives of others. Caring for the people we encounter every day. And making life brighter for the people around us. I think of that act of kindness every year around the holidays. I hope those students do as well. They certainly impacted my life that day. I am so fortunate to hear from students frequently about how much I impact their lives. I hope they all know how much they impact mine. If you happen to be one of my former students and are reading this, please know that in some way you have made my day brighter, my life richer, my joy a little stronger over the years. 

I wish you all an incredibly happy holiday and some of the joy that I experienced back during the Christmas of 1995.

The End.

Peace.

Scott

Midwest Clinic 2022

I am sitting in Midway Airport in Chicago waiting for my flight to arrive, reflecting on the events of the last 3 days at the 2022 Midwest Clinic in Chicago Illinois. This is always a special event for band and orchestra directors to gather, recharge, and reconnect right before the holidays. People often remark that it's an odd time to hold a conference, but it always seems to feel right. Chicago during the holidays is beautiful (and cold) but the friendships that are rekindled and made at this conference are well worth braving the cold weather.

This year, I was particularly pleased that three of us from the NCSSM Music Discipline could be at the clinic. It was great to see Carolina Perez and Jim Kirkpatrick, NCSSM Music Instructors, in their element with many other fantastic band directors. I'm truly blessed to work with them on a daily basis. Additionally, the opportunity to reconnect with pillars of Music Education like Philip Riggs and Sally Wagner is truly a blessing in my life. 

As for me, the primary purpose of my trip was to present as part of a panel of contributors to the new GIA publication entitled "Rehearsing the High School Orchestra," by Sandy Goldie. I was privileged to contribute a chapter to this book that takes a close look at a number of elements of high school orchestra teaching and features contributions by 8 prominent high school orchestra directors. Those categories include warm up exercises, left hand development, right hand development, articulation, developing musicianship, repertoire selection, community building, rehearsal philosophy, and others. In our session, each contributing author presented their perspective on one element of the book. I was pleased to give a brief overview of my thoughts on Rehearsal Philosophy. We had a great audience for the presentation and I think our ideas were well received.

Other highlights for me included a wonderful performance by the Walton High School Orchestra from Cobb County, Georgia under the direction of Perry Holbrook and Sarah Grimes. I had the privilege of spending a day with the orchestras at Walton a few weeks ago, offering some suggestions to this wonderful performing ensemble. I felt a lot of pride in their performance even as a one-day guest in their classroom. The performance was magnificent.

I saw several other orchestras perform and they were truly all fantastic. One of the great benefits of attending the Midwest Clinic is attending these concert performances to ensure that your perspective on superior musical performance is measured by the very best in the country. Performing at Midwest Clinic is really one of the highest honors a high school band or orchestra can achieve. The audition process is rigorous and all directors who have this opportunity know that they are in the national spotlight when they perform at the Midwest Clinic.

Another highlight was attending the panel discussion by contributing authors for the new GIA publication, "Inspiring a Love of Music," by Scott Rush and Frank Battisti. This is another collaborative publication which highlights the ideas of several prominent music educators around the country. Again, I was honored to participate in this publication. While I was not involved in the panel discussion at the Midwest Clinic, I was in attendance and thrilled to hear the thoughts of so many fine music educators. Most prominent in my mind (and probably all others in attendance) were the ideas and remarks of distinguished music professor, Dr Frank Battisti. It was such an honor to hear him articulate his thoughts about the purpose of music in our lives, and students' lives, and in the world we live in. He was so inspiring and clearly a wealth of knowledge. His remarks alone were worth the trip to Chicago!

There were many other marvelous sessions as well. I attended Margaret Selby's brilliant session on middle school orchestra recruiting and retention, a fantastic new music performance session with the Chicago land educators Orchestra performing, and several others. All were fantastic!

But now, with bad weather coming into the Midwest, it is time to get out of here. It has been a wonderful couple of days and I'm so sad to miss the Wednesday sessions and performances. I was particularly looking forward to the Johns Creek High School Orchestra performance today under the direction of my dear friend Young Kim. I am certain they will be spectacular. Young is a master at pulling the very best technically and musically from his students. I always enjoy seeing him conduct and hearing the exceptional results of his brilliant rehearsal technique.

For now, goodbye to Chicago and the Midwest Clinic. I truly look forward to the next time! Now back to Durham and Christmas Eve gigs!

Peace.

Scott