Congratulations to Schmitt Music’s 2020-2021 EDUCATORS OF THE YEAR: Jeanne Kauffmann, Katie Hauser, and Erin Holmes!

In an effort to recognize the work of outstanding school music educators in the Midwest, Schmitt Music and the SDC (Schmitt Director Center) set out to find the best of the best. We honor exceptional band and/or orchestra educators in three categories: elementary, middle school, and high school.

THANK YOU to all the music education colleagues and students who took time to nominate and recognize teachers in their schools. All of our deserving nominees show a dedication to music education that is truly inspirational. Get to know a bit about the 2021 Educator of the Year winners below:

Jeanne Kauffmann

Describe why you think you were nominated for this award.

I’m honored, surprised, and humbled by my nomination. So much of our success is a result of the fantastic team of orchestra teachers in our district. We work very hard to help our students succeed. We are always on the lookout for partnerships that will support our programs. Our relationship with Schmitt Music has provided innumerable opportunities for students to play, students who might otherwise never have picked up a string instrument. I was the point person and nurtured our relationship with Schmitt Music. Schmitt Music has been so very generous to donate and repair our instruments and that relationship has blessed our students and district in ways that we will never fully be able comprehend.

Describe your approach to your job.

I believe that music is vital to our beginning students and provides opportunities throughout their life. Who knows in what direction music can lead them? Perhaps it will lead them to a career in music, perhaps becoming a professional musician, perhaps the opportunity to play with amateur orchestras throughout their lives, or perhaps simply give them an overall enjoyment and appreciation of music. Convinced that music builds resilience, I have a passion to help my students develop skill and grow in character. Practicing an instrument develops persistence when they want to quit, confidence when they succeed. I am convinced that practicing music opens the doors to so many possibilities.

I want them to have fun, to learn to express themselves through their instrument, to learn to play together as a team and appreciate the different sounds that each instrument adds to the string orchestra.

Dream big – what is the one thing that you would like to accomplish in your current job?

We are hoping to bring in the group, Sons of Serendip, for the 2022-23 school year. I had the pleasure to hear them at St. John’s University a few years ago and also to visit with them the next day. They are amazing and I believe they would inspire so many of our young musicians, especially those of color. I have found that peer pressure is difficult for our students entering middle school and high school and playing an instrument can be a touchpoint of ridicule. I think the example these men give in their musical collaboration and performance success could encourage those who might be feeling this pressure to continue in music. Another dream I have is that our beginning students would continue to have equal access to instruments and continue to receive support in music programs throughout their educational years.

What are your career goals?

I would like to continue to advocate for the opportunities for all of our students to be able to play an instrument. Retirement is coming soon for me and I plan to still be advocating for music in the schools afterwards in whatever way I can. I also look forward to subbing as needed.

How would your students describe you?

Goofy, funny, passionate about playing, understanding, compassionate, easy to talk to, supportive of all of them, able to understand where they are at and how to hopefully inspire them to express themselves through their music – able to play out frustrations, happiness, goofiness, sadness, etc. (I hope this is all true!). For example, when a student comes into class feeling blue about a quiz or some other challenging situation I will help them “play it out” on their instrument, helping them redirect their frustration. Similarly, we will play a happy tune to help them express joy they are feeling. This helps them express their strong emotions in a healthy way.

What do you consider your finest accomplishment and why?

I am very proud of the relationship I have with Schmitt Music and their commitment to Robbinsdale School District 281 to give each student an instrument to play when we run out of district instruments. It is the epitome of providing access to all students. As I mentioned before, this partnership has given any student the opportunity to start playing an instrument. Also, it is a very proud moment for me when I hear those first notes being played by each student after weeks of preparation. A first note itself is one of the finest accomplishments I could ever have because of the joy I see in my student’s countenance. Finally, starting the fall festival (where beginning 4th and 5th grade students play by memory) in Robbinsdale back in 1992 had a significant influence in the growth of our program. As the years went on, we kept running out of room for it as we grew from approximately 70 students in 1992 to more than 550 who pack our high school gymnasium for this concert. It was the first performance for our beginners and something that they still remember.

What is the most memorable moment in your career so far?

I think taking the Armstrong Orchestra to Beijing, China in 1999. To see my students being able to learn about a different culture and to interact with Chinese student musicians was something I will never forget. The Chinese audiences were so appreciative of our students and made them feel truly blessed to be there. In addition, when I taught high school students, I started all of them in chamber music—duets, trios, and quartets. In the spring I had these students visit the teachers’ lounge to play for their teachers in appreciation for letting them miss class to come to music lessons. I wanted them to experience being in a musical group and also give them another performance opportunity that included thanking their teachers. I also introduced these same groups to my middle school students to provide inspiration to our younger students.

What has been your biggest obstacle in your teaching career and how did you overcome it?

To be honest, I think it was being a person who always thought, “Why not?” I always pushed to do things, take opportunities, even when it wasn’t popular. My first teaching job was in Long Island, NY. It was a culture shock but I learned so much. It was interesting to experience a culture where music was the biggest push out there, not sports. They saw music as an opportunity for students to get into college. I was mentored by teachers who were by nature, not at all shy. I will never forget that experience and what those teachers taught me. Coming back into quiet Minnesota, I had to learn to try to pull back a bit. Hopefully I have but also, hopefully, I haven’t when it comes to providing opportunity for our students! Music is a life long experience that every child should have as many opportunities to experience as possibl

Who do you most admire in the music education field and why?

The person who most inspired me was my junior and senior high private teacher. Her name was Mary King Osterfield and she was amazing. She was from Belfast, Ireland. She lost her husband during the Battle of the Bulge and after being widowed, played in the Belfast Symphony and then played in London. She moved to Canada on her own in the 1960’s, and then migrated south to the Fargo–Moorhead area. She must have taught hundreds of students and was an inspiration to so many. I believe that she was the biggest influence in the string programs in Fargo Moorhead and the surrounding areas from the 1970’s to 2010. The Orchestra room in the Moorhead Middle School is dedicated to her. She was invited to speak with Osmo Vanska about the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. She had played at its premiere in England. She lived to be 100 and was still teaching until 3 months before her passing. She has been honored by many. The thing I remember from her, as her student, was her joy! If you have ever seen the movie Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams was truly channeling her! She could make anything joyful and was also available to just talk over a cup of tea that she would make for you, instead of playing in your lesson that day. She taught life lessons, was fearless, and was still flirting with handsome men until the end! I will never stop missing her.

How are you involved in music/music education outside of the school day?

I was a clinician for SmartMusic from 2003 – 2015. I was the first person to introduce the new string literature for SmartMusic at TODA in San Antonio in 2003. Our district hosted the first pilot program for the new string SmartMusic at Lakeview Elementary in 2004. Working with SmartMusic gave me so many opportunities! I was invited by the company to introduce and educate so many teachers at clinics such as TODA, ASTA, Suzuki conventions, MMEA, and many more school districts and conventions throughout the country. I was able to meet and work with many educators and composers with whom I continue to have friendships with to this day. Our district brought in Richard Meyer to conduct our Spring Orchestra Festival a few years ago. He gave clinics, worked with conducting and teaching our middle school and high school students, and then conducted spring festival, where the students played music he had composed. We all learned so much from him. I have taught both violin and viola privately for many years. I have taught at every level from grade 4 to college at Concordia College, Moorhead, as a member of the faculty in the 2001-2002 school year. I taught violin and viola lessons and conducted the Concordia College Chamber Orchestra. I played in the Fargo Moorhead Symphony during my school years, from age 15 – 25. I also played in the viola section when I taught at Concordia. I have played with the Wayzata Orchestra off and on during past 20 years and have also played for years in string quartets. It’s my plan to rejoin the Wayzata Orchestra after I retire.

Katie Hauser

Describe why you think you were nominated for this award.

I would hope that it is because someone recognized that I work really hard to make sure my students get a quality music education during their time with me. Middle school is often the overlooked and underappreciated part of the K-12 experience, but I know that it is the most important time for kids to start to connect emotionally with music. It is crucial that kids have a music teacher who 1.) cares about them, 2.) knows their “stuff”, and 3.) can inspire a pursuit towards musical excellence. Whoever nominated me for this award – I hope – saw those qualities in my teaching.

Describe your approach to your job.

I teach middle school band – kids who are in their third and fourth years of playing an instrument. My goals with each class are:

• to build strong relationships with my incoming students,
• to make sure my students’ foundational knowledge on their band instruments is solid,
• to get them excited about making music,
• to help them see the beauty involved in ensemble music making,
• and to get them to high school band.

Dream big – what is the one thing that you would like to accomplish in your current job?

My dreams always involve numbers. More kids experiencing music, and the numbers to make that happen. Enough instruments that work. Enough space. Enough opportunities and enough teachers. In 19-20, we were finally able to get a beginning band to run at the middle school to increase access points for students. I really want to see that project through a non-COVID year or two and see how that affects the diversity in our middle school and high school band programs.

What are your career goals?

I teach in a Title 1 school and love it. I love the diversity of our student population and the unique culture that is created in our building. I love my job and am not dreaming of working at “the school atop the hill”. I want to continue to advocate for more band for more students – which means improving access points, making band class more diverse, and figuring out ways of making it more equitable. I think it is important that all kids get a great music education regardless of their socioeconomic status, and I’m lucky to already work in a district in which the music teachers are committed to making sure that happens.

How would your students describe you?

Demanding. But then they would tell you that they like it that way.

At the end of 8th grade, kids will usually tell me that they were afraid to come to middle school band because they had heard “that Mrs. Hauser is strict and makes you work really hard”. Then they’ll explain that it isn’t as scary as they thought and that I’m not really strict, I just expect them to do great things – and don’t let them get away with it when they’re lazy. They are always impressed at the end of 8th grade when I play them recordings from their first concert in 7th grade – they understand that the demands I place on them result in some pretty awesome growth.

What do you consider your finest accomplishment and why?

Every kid who signs up for middle school band “because my mom made me” and two years later signs up for high school band “because band is my home and I love making music.” Because it means that I made a difference in those kids’ lives.

What is the most memorable moment in your career so far?

I don’t know that there has been one most memorable moment. I think one of my favorite things as a teacher is when I see my middle school kids experience the “moment” where they realize what band is really about – how music can emotionally affect them – how they aren’t as good as they think they are but they suddenly realize how good they could be – etc. It’s like a flame is lit and I love how watching how they take hold of that passion.

What has been your biggest obstacle in your teaching career and how did you overcome it?

Teaching band during COVID-19. No one was prepared for it, and we just held on for dear life. I’m not sure if I overcame it so much as survived it. I give so much credit to the students and parents who got through a full year of on-line band. I think we’ll be rebuilding for a few years. One thing that has been great as we approach the light at the end of the tunnel is how happy everyone is to just play their instruments! We all understand how something we took for granted so quickly disappeared, and how each day of making music together is a gift.

Who do you most admire in the music education field and why?

I hold Pat Moriarty near and dear to my heart. I was scared of him when I first started teaching. He seemed to know everything and everyone, and I felt like I knew nothing and was afraid that he’d find that out. He was generous with his time and knowledge, and never made me feel bad for not knowing things. He was truly student centered and a life-long learner, and I hope to be half the teacher he was. I miss him tremendously.

How are you involved in music/music education outside of the school day?

Right now, I am involved in music outside of school simply as a consumer and a hobbyist (and by driving my kid to piano lessons each week and making sure she practices!) As the mother of a 3 and 6 year old, a band director, and the wife of a high school band director, my performing life as an oboist and oboe instructor has taken a backseat as I take care of my family. I am 100% okay with that. One day I’ll get back at it again – when my kids don’t need me so much.

Erin Holmes

Describe why you think you were nominated for this award.

I am hoping that I have been able to help inspire, grow, or bring someone’s passion for music and learning to fruition.

Describe your approach to your job.

Music has always been my home base, a place where I felt accepted, challenged, and accountable. I don’t see what I do as a “job” per say but as the center of who I am. I approach myself, my kids, my students, my relationships with honesty, trust, accountability, and have high expectations with everything and everyone around me. I knew at a young age that music was who I was and I never wanted to lose that. Being called to be a teacher, I knew I had the opportunity to share that with others. I get to go each day to school and be influenced by some of the greatest humans on this planet and I am grateful for being able to “get better every day.”

Dream big – what is the one thing that you would like to accomplish in your current job?

My dream job would be to re-imagine current systems and structures that create barriers for students to enter and thrive in the music world by constructing creative and repeatable avenues to recruit, retain, and train our students in music education so they may pursue their interests and talents no matter what previous roadblocks existed. To be human is to all too often endure what is accepted as normal, or the way things have always been done rather than taking a route where path’s must be created for others that come after us to make wider, better, and more travel friendly. In the band world there are many traditions directors have come to accept which all too often deters students from participating or continuing in instrumental music. To have the opportunity to be a leader in helping to open doors that have been closed off for so many students is a purpose and process I want to continue to work for.

What are your career goals?

In addition to dreaming big and always pursuing a vision of leaving music better than I found it, I am also always dedicated to help instill confidence and a lifetime love for music in my students.

How would your students describe you?

I have been described as “Girl Boss”. Hard-working, ambitious, compassionate, and someone who is willing to challenge her students, go to the end of the earth for them, and their success.

What do you consider your finest accomplishment and why?

First woman Jazz Chair in the state of Minnesota – one of my finest accomplishments has been the catalyst to bring the All-State Jazz Band back to perform at Orchestra Hall with the rest of the All-State ensembles. I want women to know that glass ceiling is breaking and I will always lift them up!

What is the most memorable moment in your career so far?

My most memorable moment in my career is when I realized how much my WHY has changed over the years and for the better. The process each day brings me so much joy by watching the growth of the students, the program, my colleagues, myself. I do not take what I get to do for granted and appreciate the little things that make the big things happen.

What has been your biggest obstacle in your teaching career and how did you overcome it?

The biggest obstacle in my career was being directed and steered down paths by others in our professional career and industry that were acceptable in their eyes for me as a woman and a mother. Their picture for what I was to be was so far under my own aspirations, I ignored their “path” suggestion and continued to grow and help others by simultaneously helping myself.

Who do you most admire in the music education field and why?

This question is hard to answer! There are many people I continue to admire – whether it is the general music teachers that introduce students to music first and the 5th grade directors that start the instrumentalists, to the professionals I work with daily that dedicate their days to making those around them better, there are so many people that help make me who I am today. Every day is a great day to get better and knowing that on any given day there will be a different person that will offer me inspiration and ways to continuously grow is a huge piece to why I do what I do.

How are you involved in music/music education outside of the school day?

I am a sought after MSHSL Adjudicator for Large Group Contest, Solo and Ensemble Contest, middle school contests in Minnesota, and at the Adventureland Festival of Bands in Iowa.

I have been the honor band director for the Upper St. Croix Valley Music Association Honor Festival in Wisconsin, CMBDA 11-12 Honor Jazz Band, the University of Northern Iowa 9-10 Honor Band Director, MBDA 9-10 Honor Jazz Band Director, and have been invited again to this year’s honor band at the University of Northern Iowa as the 11-12 Director. I have dedicated time to be MBDA saxophone section coach for state Honor Jazz, hosted multiple SEMBDA honor bands, and co-host the Middle School Band Festival honor bands at Farmington High School. I was the first woman to hold the prestigious position of Jazz Chair for MMEA. Each year I host the South Suburban Conference Jazz Festival and hire amazing clinicians such as the Airmen of Note! I am a member of Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), Minnesota Band Directors Association (MBDA), and Women Band Directors International (WBDI) and was on the board of the MN chapter of International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE). I teach private lessons, one of the saxophone judges for All-State Band and All-State Jazz Band, a clinician for countless bands throughout the state, and taught masterclasses on topics such as saxophone/woodwind techniques and Women in Jazz. I have been a mentor to many women – a participant in many interview sessions for college students and even in some people’s Masters thesis on the topic of women in music.I have been on podcasts – Band in Minnesota, Band Director’s Lounge, and will be on Master of the Musiverse. My colleague and I are presenting an Informance on how we approach teaching our 9th graders, and in 2021, a professional goal of the Farmington High School Wind Ensemble was chosen to perform at MMEA (the first in Farmington’s history), and even though we had to put together a virtual performance, it was one of the finest and proudest moments that I have.

As a saxophonist, I have performed in ensembles such as the Swing Sisterhood Big Band, Southern Minnesota’s REAL Big Band, a substitute in the Encore Wind Ensemble, Caprice Saxophone Quartet, and a soloist for our top notch choir. Most recently, I am a guest soloist in this year’s MMEA Midwinter Clinic with the Mahtomedi Zephyr Wind Ensemble on alto and soprano saxophone.

My goal to make the music world more inclusive by doing the work to look at my own implicit biases and working towards living an antiracist life is extremely important to me. I never did any work by a woman composer while I was in high school or college, or even thought it was important when I first began teaching. I work hard to research composers and literature that our students can see themselves in and build our library of repertoire. I am a mentor to many band directors – seasoned veterans or novice directors – in this subject and while I always have a lot of work to do, I will never stop learning and sharing with others. Every day truly is a good day to get better and our students do not have time for us to wait. It’s time to do the work and I’m determined to not only to make myself better but anyone around me in my life.

A big thank you goes out to this year’s esteemed adjudication panel: Annika Eriksson, Scott Rabehl, Chiyo Trauernicht, and Andrea Whitcomb.