It is so good to be back teaching. The summer was fun--had a great vacation time with the family--but it is nice to get back into a routine, and more importantly, to get into private teaching again.
I love to teach clarinet lessons. Working one-on-one with a student really gives me a chance to watch them grow and blossom as a musician and person. Some of my students start with me in six or seventh grade, so I get to witness their teen years. I'm sure that many of you think I'm nuts, but I am blessed to be in my fifteenth year of private teaching for the Owasso School District, and they have great young people there. Those young people have good parents and band directors. It is a joy to be there.
I also have the honor of teaching at my Alma Mater, The University of Tulsa. This year, we moved into a beautiful new facility. My clarinet instructor and unofficial "second dad", Bill, passed away a couple of years ago. He too was a TU alumnus. I wish he was alive to see the building. He'd have been impressed. I'm sure he's smiling down from heaven.
Composing-wise, I'm almost finished with a clarinet quartet I started in 2006, when I didn't have the confidence to publish. Now that I do, I am close to finishing it. It's name is "Clarinets and Salsa", and as it's name suggests, it is very much a latin-style dance work. It's going to be really fun to play and a great listen. I will also do a clarinet choir arrangement of the work.
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