How David Bachart Turned Around the Music Program in the New Hope-Solebury School District. When David Bachart took over the music program at New Hope High School, everyone hated him. But with loving discipline and leadership training, the music program turned around and the students became healthily self-reliant. Our thanks to Stormworks’ Stephen Melillo for introducing Sonic Control to David.
How does a band director teach both music and soccer? As a young man I had two passions: soccer and music. As I moved through high school, I realized that I needed to make a decision and focus on one or the other. Music was my choice. When I began teaching at the New Hope-Solebury High School, there was a job opening for the Junior Varsity Soccer Coach. Since I would not be spending time with a marching band, which New-Hope-Solebury didn’t have, I jumped at the opportunity to coach soccer. I have found that being the director of bands and the soccer coach has bridged the gap between the students and me. As an educator at a high school, I try to go to as many school activities and sporting events as many school activities as possible (as a chaperone, spectator, or band director). Being involved in the community is a great opportunity to get to know the students as well as the parents.
Once you decided to major in music, where did you go, and looking back, how well did your school prepare you for what you’re doing now? I graduated from West Chester University, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1998 with a B.S. in Music Education. West Chester provided a great foundation for my teaching career. They focused on creating educators that were well rounded in voice, piano skills, theory, musicianship, and pedagogy. Upon leaving West Chester, I felt I could walk into any band, choral, or general music setting and be successful. My student teaching experience is what launched my passion for music education. I had the privilege of teaching with Peter Nue in the North Penn School District. He showed me that strong teaching practices coupled with a great rapport with the students equals success for a music program.
You taught in the Las Vegas public school system. Tell us about your teaching experience there, and how is it similar/different to New Hope, Pennsylvania? Teaching in Las Vegas was a great experience. In Las Vegas there was cultural diversity, therefore, I learned a lot from my students and their cultures. The city itself is very transient, and students moved around a lot. The neighborhood in which I taught was in a lower-income area. In many families, people worked several jobs or night shifts at the casinos. This left many of the students at home alone or with other siblings. Any extra time I spent with the students brightened their day, and it really gave them a sense of belonging.
What brought you to New Hope from sunny Las Vegas? Actually, I graduated from Souderton High School in 1993 in Souderton, Pennsylvania. I taught in the Clark County School District for 4 years as a year-round employee teaching General Music K-6. I was also the choir director for those 4 years as well. While I was in Las Vegas, I started a multicultural instrumental ensemble that would perform at all our concerts and special school events. We focused on music from Africa, Asia, and Native American cultures. Though I loved teaching at the elementary school level, I always wanted to teach at the high school level and develop an instrumental program. I moved to St.George Utah and taught in the Washington County School District for one year. In Utah, I taught two concert bands, jazz band, marching band, concert choir, jazz improvisation, and two guitar classes. I was offered a job in the Souderton Area School District in Pennsylvania for the following year teaching general music. I received a phone call from my mentor Peter Nue in June of 2003 informing me of a full-time high/middle school band director position in the New Hope-Solebury School District. He had recommended me to Ken Silver, a principal on the district, and the rest is history. I’m currently the middle school and high school music director. In the high school, I teach wind ensemble, jazz band, music theory, A.P Music Theory, and a variety of small ensembles. In the middle school, I teach sixth, seventh and eighth grade band, jazz ensemble, and general music.
What was the band program like when you first got to New Hope? When I first arrived in the New Hope-Solebury School District, the music program was headed in the wrong direction. The students involved in the instrumental music program were playing well below grade level and were not inspired to be the best musicians they could be (both as individuals and as an ensemble.) For an example, our first concert consisted of pieces such as Holst Suite in Eb, Sousa Marches, and the music of Percy Grainger. The first time they laid their eyes on the music, most of their faces dropped due to all the notes on the page. They had never been asked to play music at this level and they felt it would be to difficult to play and their concert would be horrible. However, they did learn with hard work they could play anything put in front of them.
What were the student attitudes like? The students felt that I was too hard on them at first, and some students started dropping the class because getting an “A” required putting in real time and effort. My first year in the district was difficult. However, the winter concert had come and gone, my students had realized their potential as a group, and as individuals, and starting taking ownership of their music.
Other administrators and parents? I have heard great directors such as Ed Lisk say that they had to educate many principals and superintendents throughout their careers. I now understand what that means. Our administration has always been supportive of the arts program in our district, but they didn’t understand the time, effort, and leadership required to run a great music program. Band, choir, and orchestra are not just for fun; they are academic classes. The New Hope-Solebury High District has an intense, rigorous academic program in all subject areas and music needed to have that same focus.
What happened with the parents and teachers when you began exercising leadership and expecting students to take responsibility? There was a great deal of backlash and I took a lot of flack for the demands I was placing on my students. I required, and still do require, after school rehearsals, pep band attendance, district auditions, and practice logs for all my students. After our concerts the parents, students, and administration began to see the results of the student’s hard work and growing dedication. After four years in the district, the community, students and administration know what I expect, and they now always seem to exceed my expectations.
How did the students respond? Did they rebel? I had many students quit the ensembles right away during my first year as the director. I was then met with complaining about all the work. They stuck with it, however, and achieved a level they never thought possible. The students, now four years later, run band meetings on their own, fundraise, run sectionals, and best of all….practice. They’ve taken ownership of the program. It’s not my program….it’s the kids program, and they can make it whatever they want, but they will meet my expectations through-out the school year. What happened when a new superintendent took over? At the start of the 2007-2008 school year Dr. Raymond Boccuti took over as the new Superintendent of the New Hope-Solebury School District. Dr. Boccuti is a former music educator and he’s been very supportive of our music programs. He’s actively involved in the development of our growing programs and understands what is needed to create a strong music program.
Five years later, where’s your program today? The New Hope-Solebury instrumental music program is thriving. Students are interested in performance and the study of music. Our Wind Ensemble has gone from 2 performances a year to 10. They enjoy the experience of the festival setting and enjoy hearing feedback from adjudicators. The jazz program has gone from non-existent to performing over 30 times a year at local jazz festival, community events, school events and national music festivals. Our middle school program is also thriving. We have great young musicians that are not afraid to take a chance. Everyday our students take a step towards being the best musician they can be. The students have taken ownership of the program…..and that is the way I like it. It allows me to focus on the music. These students are the future leaders of our country and I will be proud to say that I taught them and knew them as young adults.
Do you have any programs in the elementary and middle school levels that you also run? If so, what are they like? In addition to the high school music program I’m also the middle school band director. I currently teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band, 7th grade general music, and a middle school jazz band.
You recently purchased new band instruments. What kind of band instruments do students rent from independent music stores compared to those the school provides? When I arrived at the New Hope-Solebury School District the instruments were in deplorable condition. The average age of the instruments was 25. We supply instruments to students that are doubling or playing instruments that are difficult rent, such as tubas, bassoons, double French horns, and baritones. These instruments are expensive and for the quality desired, you must pay a lot of money. Our students are responsible for any damage to the instruments. We will provide yearly routine maintenance.
Do you allow the students to take the instruments home? If so, how does the sign-out plan work and do you require that parents put loaner instruments on their homeowners policy? I have had no problems with damaged instruments, but the students do have a contract for the year. The instrument is their responsibility for the entire year. New Hope just started a football program this year. What’s the experience like of being able to develop a band program without having to be concerned about marching band, shows, etc.? I’m glad that the district is implementing the football team. There’s something about football that brings a school together. Kids should be involved in different activities throughout the high school career. Not having a marching band program allows us to focus on concert music and our jazz ensembles.
You’ve begun developing a music technology program. What did you see a music technology program could help you, the teacher, do to impact your students and improve teaching? Ever changing technology is a part of every student’s life. They live on mobile devices. Technology has allowed us to create a website to post performances, rehearsals, and other events for the music department. It allows us to celebrate student achievements and archive our performances. In the classroom students use a multitude of software to better ear training, sight-singing, rhythm, and technique. It allows us to have instant feedback during a rehearsal to critique rehearsal practices. It allows students to take assessments at home and save valuable class time which is spent on blend, balance, and intonation.
What software programs did you select and why those? We wanted our students to be able to use all the available software our there so when they continue on to college they are prepared for anything. As we looked through the different music notation software we decided to go with the two top companies; Finale and Sibelius. As a part of the Sibelius package we purchased Auralia. This has really helped our students with ear-training and sight-singing. As we started our journey into the recording world we found there were many different options for software. We decided to go ahead and use three different recording programs that will really create well-round technicians; Cubase, Logic 8, GarageBand (Middle School Students), and Wave Lab. WaveLab runs in Windows. I wanted the students to be able to use recording software from both operating systems. The students will be able to use WaveLab on the Windows side of the Macs. As a music department we wanted all out concert archived in several different formats. We’ll have audio recordings as well as video recording. We’ll use Apple’s program Final Cut to create DVDs of the concert as well as create digital portfolios for all the students to record their progress through their years in the New Hope-Solebury Music Department. SmartMusic’s professional audio recordings make practicing fun, so students practice longer and more often. It’s easy for teachers to manage, grade, and document student progress with pre-authored SmartMusic assignments. SmartMusic allows us to develop student skills faster, Spend more time teaching musical expression, guide, document, and grade the progress of each student, and easily comply with assessment and accountability requirements. While this is not a substitute for a teacher it does allow us freedom to work on repertoire and have the students reinforce rhythmic exercises as well as harmonic and scale exercises.
What software programs did you consider, but not implement and why? I decided not to purchase Nuendo, for it is a powerful program that would be more useful after experience is gained with our current software programs. The big question: Mac or PC and why the choice you made? It’s well known that Macs have always been favored by musicians. Macs are the only computers that come from the factory with a starter level digital-audio workstation. The Macs allows us to plug-in, play and record. Last school year a student began bringing his MacBook to school. I played with the different software applications and immediately realized its value. The ease of use is incredible! As we explored the computer, we began to use iWeb. In just one weekend my student created one of the greatest music department websites I have ever seen. The music department presented this to the New Hope-Solebury School Board in May of 2008, and it has been a huge success. We have podcasts of concert material, assessments, assignments, and calendars, all located at http://www.nhsd.org/music.
How big is your music lab and how did you go about budgeting for it? Our current theory lab has 6 iMac and 7 MacBooks for the students to use for music notation and recording. The New Hope-Solebury School District provided the funds for the iMac computers. The 7 laptops were obtained through a grant from the New Hope Education Foundation. Do you have keyboards, or do you require students to have their own portable MIDI keyboards? Each of the computers are hooked up to a Korg Triton Studio keyboard.
What are your plans to teach audio recording and what software will you use to teach it? We hope to implement music technology classes in the middle school and high school next year. These classes will allow non-performing students to experience music through the use of technology. Our goal is to expose more students to the arts through technology.
Is guitar instruction a part of your curriculum? If not, why not? Students in the middle school general music class in seventh and eighth grade are exposed to guitar. As part their learning experience the spend 1/3 of the class playing guitar, piano, and percussion instruments. We also try and recruit students to play in our performing ensembles.
Looking down the road, where do you see your program in Fall 2009, then Fall 2010? The music department intends to move forward, by increasing the number of students involved, elevating our individual and ensemble performance standards and embracing technology as it applies to the arts. The standards of excellence set by former students forms the foundation for our program. Each year we’ll build on this foundation. The sky is the limit for our students and we’ll move beyond and reach for the stars.
