There was a time when I thought of myself as a band director, and that was mostly it.  I knew I had other interests, but I was a band director in my thinking most of my day.  There came a time when I realized that I needed to spend more time away from that one passion, and that this would ultimately make me a better educator.

I always hate it when the performers in a show get lost in the design.  Great design lifts the performers up, giving them a vehicle to shine.  But sometimes a show can suffocate the performers, or perhaps even attempt to mask a lack of skills and basic training.  It can be exciting to look at, but we can all tell when a show is all dessert and no vegetables.

In this short video, Tim talks about the power of speaking up when something seems off.

As a musician, the soundtrack to the season is very important, and I've always loved Christmas music.  My all-time favorite holiday album is by The Carpenters, but there are many others that I love to dust off each year and listen during the season.

There's no shame in being nervous... My mother would say it like this: "You're gonna get the butterflies, right?  We've all heard 'the butterflies in your tummy.'"  She would say, "You just have to get them to fly in formation."

Today marks the last day that I will appear on live broadcasts with BOX5-TV this season. It's been thrilling and exhausting. I'm so appreciative of the opportunity to help share these stories and to make our brand at MAE more visible to more people in our activity.

As I try to declutter during the pandemic and clear out my life, I have become aware that many of the things that mean so much to me are only special to me. This is okay. Other things that I no longer am attached to should go and make room for more space or new items.

Early in my career when I was a band director I used to get a cold at the end of each marching season. I would run myself ragged and then finally collapse when the season was over. I was really proud when I stopped this pattern and learned to take care of myself so that this no longer happened each year.

I have an interesting conversation with Michael Raiford about the difference in Sets and Props in our marching shows. Let's adjust to better terminology that matches the rest of the arts community.

We all have something that sets us apart, makes us feel different, and might make us worry how others will treat us. Once we can be comfortable with our true selves, others will take their cues from us and do so also.