Session Proposals
| Presenter Information | |
|---|---|
| Presenter Name | Chris Harris |
| Presenter's Position | Adjunct Instructor of Percussion, University of Tulsa |
| Presenter's Short Biography | Chris Harris serves the University of Tulsa as Adjunct Instructor of Percussion where he directs the Percussion Ensemble and Steelband, teaches Percussion Methods and Applied Percussion to Music Education majors and instructs and arranges music for the Sound of the Golden Hurricane Drum Line. Harris holds Bachelor and Master degrees (1990, 1992) from the University of Oklahoma. Over a 34 year public school career, Harris was a percussion specialist/band director at Moore High School, Union High School and Broken Arrow High School before finishing at Owasso High School where he served as Director of Bands from 2014-2024. Chris was named Oklahoma Bandmasters Association Director of the Year in 2024. |
| Presenter's Address | 14123 East 88th Street North Owasso, Oklahoma 74055 Map It |
| Presenter's Phone | (918) 697-2200 |
| Presenter's Email | Email hidden; Javascript is required. |
| Will there be additional presenters for your session? | No |
| Session Information | |
| Session Title | "What Is Your Greatest Fear?": Addressing Anxiety in Public School Band Directors |
| Session Description | This session is designed to address the many layers of running a successful band program, especially the ones that aren't taught in college! These layers, when stacked on top of one another, can become overwhelming. It is my desire to help attendees discover the common issues that we are all going through...our Greatest Fears! The session will start with a Word Cloud that attendees can do on their phone (QR code on a slide show). They will have the option to click on their own personal top 5 issues (their "Greatest Fears") from a provided list (based not only on my years of teaching, but also on my months on the road serving directors as an Educational Road Rep for Saied Music Company). Here is a sampling of topics that directors will choose from: Peer Judgement, Classroom Management, Secondary Instruments, Sight Reading, Homogeneous/Non-Homogeneous Beginner Classes, Coaches, Marching Show Design, Administration, State Standards, Choosing Contest Music, Finances/Budget, Trips, Transportation, Inventory, Parents/Boosters, Block Schedule, Burnout/Work-Life Balance. As the Word Cloud populates the hottest topics will have a larger font size. We will then advance through the hottest topics via slideshow, including a One Minute Speed Round (per topic!) for attendees to shout out short suggestions based on what has worked well for them. The wrap-up will include pointing out how much we all have in common (based on the Word Cloud and discussion). We can help each other de-escalate the Fear Factor! |
| Session Focus |
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| Is this a demonstration session? | No |
| Sponsorship | |
| Will your session be sponsored? | No |