Strong Relationships With Colleagues and Administrators Can Improve Recruiting Efforts

After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators

This week we continue with episode four of our six-part series looking at recruiting students for your band program as Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Joe Quinnelly, Reggie Coleman, and Daniel Ritch. Joe Quinnelly is Director of Bands at Hernando Middle School, which is part of the largest school district in Mississippi, and is located just south of Memphis. Reggie Coleman is Band Director at Rocky Fork Middle School in Smyrna, TN, which is a town of 53,000 located a half hour southeast of Nashville. Daniel Ritch is Head Band Director at Hardin County Middle School in Savannah, TN, which is a town of 7,200, two hours east of Memphis.

In this episode we'll learn about the ways that recruiting has changed at their schools since the pandemic, how they build and maintain strong relationships with counselors and administrators, and more.

Our conversation was recorded December 23, 2024. We've broken it up into two episodes, and this is part two.

Here are the band director resources on Amro Music's website that were referenced in the conversation.