After Hours: Conversations for Music Educators – Details, episodes & analysis

This week Nick Averwater talks with Jacob Abbott, Performing Arts Director at Dresden High School in Dresden, TN, which is a town of around 3,000 people in Northwest Tennessee, and is just over 100 miles from both Memphis and Nashville.

Jacob has been named to the 2025 Yamaha 40 Under 40 list of music educators, and in this conversation he'll tell us about restarting the school's band program after 20 years, with the support of the school district and the community.

Our conversation was recorded in February, 2025.

This week Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Alice Hammel, a music educator who has dedicated her 40-year career to making music programs more supportive, productive, and enjoyable for students with differences and disabilities.

Dr. Hammel has written four books about this subject, and we have links to them below.

Our conversation was recorded in February 2025.

Dr. Hammel's books include:

Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities: A Label-Free Approach

Teaching Music To Students With Autism

Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities: A Practical Resource

Winding It Back: Teaching to Individual Differences In Music Classroom and Ensemble Settings

This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Dr. John Zastoupil, Director of Bands at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In this episode we'll learn more about the responsibilities of the job away from the podium. He'll also tell us what he does to try to achieve a healthy work-life balance in a demanding job such as this.

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

This week Nick Averwater talks with John Mlynczak, Vice President of Music Education and Technology at Hal Leonard. 
They'll be talking about how John's years as a middle school music teacher have influenced the work he does today, and how the lessons learned in the last 18 months have created some great opportunities for music educators.
The conversation was recorded November 23, 2021 and is broken up in to two episodes. This is part one.

In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Charles Page, Band Director at Valley View High School in northeastern Arkansas. Prior to his current position he was Band Director in the Buffalo Island School District, which is a much smaller district in the same part of the state. 
In this conversation, Dr. Page talks about the musical challenges associated with directing a small band with just a few musicians, and how that can lead to some creative solutions and outstanding musical experiences for the students. Our conversation was recorded in late summer 2021, just before the new school year began.

This week Nick Averwater continues his conversation with Bob Morrison, CEO and Founder of Quadrant Research, the nation's leading arts education research and market intelligence organization. Bob is also a member of his regional school board in New Jersey. In this episode they'll be talking about the role of music and the arts in social emotional learning. Bob will also share his thoughts about lessons that have been learned during the pandemic, and how to apply those lessons as the virus continues to be a presence in our schools. Our conversation is broken up in to two episodes, and this is part two.

This week Nick Averwater talks with Bob Morrison, CEO and Founder of Quadrant Research, the nation's leading arts education research and market intelligence organization. In this episode they'll be talking about the Arts Education Data Project, which provides a data-driven approach to understanding the condition of arts education in the United States. You can learn more about it at artseddata.org. Our conversation is broken up in to two episodes, and this is part one

In this episode, Nick Averwater talks with Sharon Bryant, Senior Project Manager for NAMM. They'll be talking about NAMM's Best Communities for Music Education Survey, which celebrates the best music education programs in the country. Applications are being accepted through the end of January 2022, and you can learn more about it at nammfoundation.org/bcme.

In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater continues his conversation about student leadership with Dr. Craig Aarhus, Associate Director of Bands at Mississippi State University in Starkville. This conversation was recorded September 28th, 2021, and is broken up in to two episodes, and this is part two.

In this conversation Dr. Aarhus mentions the book, The System by Gary Smith.

In this episode of the After Hours Director Spotlight, Nick Averwater talks with Dr. Craig Aarhus, Associate Director of Bands at Mississippi State University. Identifying and empowering student leaders has been a big part of the band program's success, and we'll learn more about that, as well as find out more about some of Dr. Aarhus' early influences as a band director. Our conversation is broken up in to two episodes, and this is part one.