Band Directors
Greg Snyder has been the Director of Bands at Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio for 25 years. He talks here about some challenges that come with leading a music program and how to overcome them.
Cheryl Filipek is the Band Director at Niles North High School. She speaks here about how to connect to students and how to create interest in music to recruit and retain for her program.
William Thomas is a recent retiree who served as first the head Band Director at Lakota East High School outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. He gives insights on the challenges and rewards of beginning and building a new music program.
Ryan Arp is the Associate Band Director at Iowa City High School in Iowa City, Iowa. He gives insights on networking and recruiting the help of fellow music education colleagues from the University of Iowa to make a beneficial impact to his music program.
Kevin Cottrill is the Director of Bands at Seymour Community Schools and the Band Director at Seymour High School in Seymour, Indiana. He received his education at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Here, he provides insights into being a new teacher, and how to...
Jason Brown is the Director of Fine Arts for District 219, Niles Township in Cook County, Illinois. A trumpet player, he graduated from the same high school as Miles Davis, and was later fortunate enough to play with Davis. Here, he speaks about his experience of returning to his high school music...
Ernie Borr was a band director from Mandan, North Dakota who was an early supporter of the Eckroth Music store. Ernie was on hand for the Eckroth Music Center's 40th anniversary party in July 2012 and recalled the early days of calling on the store to help him with his school band instruments and...
Bill Eckroth enjoyed being a band director in his home town of Mandan, North Dakota, just across the Missouri River from Bismarck. He started out teaching junior high school students, many of whom he would meet later in his life after he decided, in 1972, to open a music store. Along with his...
Mary Ann Eckroth quietly sat behind the desk working on the books while her husband Bill traveled to the local schools to help the band directors. She took care of the customers and cleaned the store when he would travel for industry meetings, and she taught herself many of the business practices...
Bill Larson served as a band director for over 35 years in Montana. When he needed the support from a music store to service his bands, he called on Eckroth Music in Bismarck, ND. Bill was so impressed by the help he received that he visited the store and got to know owners, Bill and Mary Ann...